Exp Bio Day 4 - #ExpBioFashion

Hi everyone!

Today's post comes to you with some awesome fashion from people who have been attending the conference! I met a lot of great, interesting people at various networking events, and while I felt a little shy to pop out my camera and ask to take photos of people's fabulous outfits, the topic of being a fashion blogger for the conference came up - and I got a lot of positive feed back! 

Being the only one at the conference from my lab and not knowing anyone else attending, I had throw myself out there and just meet others, start conversations, and have a good time. I met a lot of great students presenting their research, not only graduate students but also some undergraduates, in addition to professors and recruiters.

Each night of the conference there was some kind of networking event hosted by various committees, and I made sure to make an effort to attend as many as I could. Not only were there free drinks, but  some good food and company. Worst thing that can happen is I get bored and I can leave. I ended up staying the whole time to each event I went to and had a great time with the people I had met!

I was able to take photos from a couple of fashionable people I had the pleasure of meeting, and they were more than willing to let me take their photo! 

ExpBio 2015: Day 3 - Reppin the Blue and Gold

Happy Monday!
Today is Day 3 of the Experimental Biology 2015 conference here in Boston, MA, and it is getting good!
I woke up early today to head to a Post Translational Modifications Session on Arginine Modifications, and it was great! I learned a lot about the research that is going on in my field, and I got to meet another professor who I have collaborated with/tested some enzyme activity. The session was 2.5 hours long, but it seemed to fly by. Each talk was about 20ish minutes I believe, and there are some really interesting things going on in the arginine modification world! One of the most interesting things I learned is about Arginine Phosphorylation in bacteria! If you are knowledgable about the eukaryotic proteasome degradation system, you know that proteins get marked for degradation by ubiquitination, which then signals shuttling/entrance into the proteasome and then the protein will get degraded.
Apparently, some bacteria, specifically Bacillus subtilis have an arginine kinase, that originally was identified as a tyrosine kinase. First off, I didn't know that arginine could get phosphorylated. Second, this phosphorylation is thought to work as a degradation marker for the proteasome in these bacteria! I did not know about this. The fact that arginine, which is positively charged, can become a bulky entity with now a large negative charge, I guess it just never crossed my mind!
After this session, I attended a bioinformatics session on how to find proteins with unknown function through online database searches and groupings. I learned how to use new online tools that I will check out to learn more about my enzyme and its orthologs!

Experimental Bio 2015 Conference Day 2 - Fashion and Recap of events!

Hell everyone!

Welcome to my Day 2 recap of the Experimental Biology 2015 conference!
Today I decided to go for a little more dressy, I recently bought this dressy midi skirt, a la Kim Kardashian (or so it reminded me of her), so I wanted to wear it out. This morning I changed outfits maybe 5 times before I decided on this combination.
I bought this dress skirt last minute at Ross, by Eci New York. It was the perfect size and super flattering. It wasn't tight or too fitted, I could easily move in it as it was made with stretchy fabric. I also wore a coral blouse top with a jeweled neckline I bought at Charlotte Russe. It was perfect because I didn't have to wear a necklace or jewelry after!
Since this is Boston in March, I had to make sure I wore a cover up. I originally was going to walk out of my hotel room without a jacket since it was super sunny outside, but then I realized this wasn't LA. And boy, was I right. IT. WAS. SO. COLD.
Since I grew up in Massachusetts, I didn't think the cold would be such a big deal. But it was, when I wanted to wear something cute like this outfit. The leather jacket that I love (from Express) was definitely not warm enough, because I was FROZEN wearing it. Do not be fooled, I look happy in these photos but I was freezing! Tomorrow I will be better prepared, with a more warm jacket and pants most likely!

Experimental Biology 2015 Conference - Day 1 Fashion and Recap

Hello!
I am reporting to you live from Boston, MA, where I am attending the Experimental Biology 2015 Conference, as a member of the ASBMB! I am going to be blogging about the conference daily, so be on the look out for new posts from now until Wednesday! This is different than my regular posting schedule where I post twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, so I hope I don't overwhelm you with my posts! And I will be talking about some science, but I will try to integrate conference fashion as a relevant topic!

My Conference and blogging essentials: My camera, my conference badge, my iPad to take notes and update social media, and a staple, a statement necklace!

Jil Sander Navy Event in Beverly Hills Recap and Style Inspiration!

Hello lovelies!

In last week's post I talked about a fashion event I went to as a part of LA Fashion Week with a fellow  style blogger at the Jil Sander Navy boutique store in Beverly Hills. I was excited to be a part of this event, and it was a really great experience. The boutique had several models standing in the middle of the store wearing various pieces of the Spring/Summer '15 collection for Jil Sander Navy.

For those of you who haven't heard of Jil Sander, Jil Sander is a minimalist German fashion designer that has been around for a while, and the pieces in their collection are always simple yet super chic and edgy! Granted, the pieces in the Jil Sander collection are rather expensive, and they recently launched the Jil Sander Navy brand, with a supposed more affordable collection while still preserving the minimalist feel of the original brand.
Granted, even with this being a more "affordable" line, the pieces still range between 150-1000... which, on my poor graduate student budget, is impossible.
BUT! That didn't stop me from getting inspiration for outfits and attempt to find similar pieces at a more affordable price, from say, Forever 21 or other cheaper stores.

Here are some photos from the event! We started the night off with some champagne while the models stood and showed off the clothing, and we were able to peruse the store with the awesome collection!

Floral Print for Spring BBQ!

Happy Spring lovelies!

This past weekend I went to a BBQ with some friends up in the valley at Lake Balboa. It was a glorious spring day in Los Angeles, and I was expecting the cherry blossoms to be in full bloom! Upon arriving at the lake, there were no cherry blossoms, but the trees had some I guess... but not as great as in the past when I have come to this lake!

It was a potluck style BBQ, and we all brought a dish to share, and burgers were cooked on the grill!

After stuffing ourselves and enjoying the sun, we decided to head back to west LA for a cat nap/food coma nap. 

I decided to wear this really pretty dress I received from my Aunt for my birthday, from PinkWoman. I adore the floral print on the skirt of this dress! It is so pretty and the colors are super feminine and soft. The black top of the dress is super flattering, and then floats out with the skirt!

Makeup Monday - InstaNatural Dead Sea Mud Mask Review!

Happy Monday everyone!

Today I am bringing you a review for a recent product I received, the InstaNatural Dead Sea Mud Mask! I was excited to try this product because I have been having issues with my skin just being out of control, and I am preparing for the conference I am going to in Boston at the end of this week! During the special time of the month my face just goes crazy with acne! You would think being in my later 20s now that I would be over the acne stage... I guess not. I also have a bad habit of touching my face, especially when I am sitting at my desk at work, which I have been doing a lot of lately since I have been writing a manuscript. I did some research online and came across a variety of facial masks that claim to do well for your skin, but Insta Natural Dead Sea Mud Mask seemed to have the best reviews! 

It is supposed to be a holistic detoxifier and purifier, expected to give you radiant refined skin! I needed whatever help I could get without going to a dermatologist so I decided to check out this product! All of the other reviews seemed pretty positive, with only a couple of people having reactions to it. I was sent this product to review, and boy was I surprised when I received a full size 16 oz jar to try! 

Statement Dress to Impress - Spring has sprung!

Spring has sprung, and tomorrow marks the first day of spring (for all of you who aren't in SoCal, for us here in LA, its been summer since the weekend!)! 

On Saturday I headed to a fashion event in Beverly Hills with Samira, a fashion blogger from Stylemesamira.com! Post coming up to recap the event next week! It was a rather hot day (90 degrees F!), and so I busted out my favorite black dress shorts that I have had for years, I believe since I was 16! 

I really wanted to wear my new Midnight Waters Necklace from the Yayoi Collection at Boyajian Trend Gallery, so I tried to come up with an outfit that it would be the centerpiece! I love figuring out outfits to go with statement jewelry pieces, and this was a great opportunity since it was a nice day out! I wore a plain white tank top from Forever21 that I got for $2! and a gray mini vest that I have had for some years, probably since high school as well!

I wanted to wear heels to the event but I knew I would be standing/walking around so I wanted to be comfortable. I wore these heeled sandals that were super comfortable that I bought in Hawaii, from a local store in Waikiki called Island Fever.

I then quickly curled the ends of my hair, which came out nice and took me only 10 minutes! I was amazed at how fast I have become at curling my hair. It also helps that I hadn't washed my hair in a couple of days -- this makes for easier to curl hair! I wore it half up so I could get some of the attention on the necklace!

Makeup Monday - Daily look with Naked2

Welcome to another edition of my Makeup Monday Series Tutorial featuring a daily look I created with some neutral shades from the Urban Decay Naked2 Palette. To be honest, I didn't have the $54 to buy the Naked2 palette, but I love all the shades, especially after using my Naked3 and Vice3 Palettes. 

I found on Groupon a palette series called "Exposed," which features several shades suspiciously similar to the three Urban Decay Naked palettes on sale for $18 each. I decided to just go for it and ordered the "Exposed 2" palette, which has similar shades to the Naked2 Palette! I can tell the difference in the quality of the eye shadows, but they do their job and achieve the look I want. After using this palette, I will definitely be purchasing the Naked2 palette next time I have some money to spend at Sephora! 

This is a perfect daytime look, I tend to wear some neutral gold shades to work, they give some glam while not being too over the top. 

Road Trip to Vegas, Pit stop fashion

Hello lovelies!

Today I bring you fashion from my recent road trip to Vegas for my birthday! The road trip from LA is a good 4 hour drive, if you don't stop at all...but being cramped into a car for 4 hours can sometimes be unbearable, so we had to stop a little more than half way in the middle of the desert, in Baker, CA. At this pitstop we got some snacks and drinks at the local gas station, and there was some interesting scenery. I busted out my camera and had my friend snap some photos of my outfit. 

Spring into Style with Apparel Candy!

Hello lovelies! and happy Tuesday!
It has been warming up here in LA this past weekend, and with this time change, the sun is out much later! It feels nice leaving lab and the sun is still out! That only means that spring is coming! And to honor this warm up in LA (sorry all my friends on the east coast with snow and cold weather still, but spring is coming soon for you too!), I have created a style board featuring cute pieces to wear this spring, featuring items from ApparelCandy!
I am totally into pinks/coral/purple shades for this spring, and I inadvertently picked things in the same color palette! I am loving some sun dresses, particularly for brunch on the weekend with friends, along with some cat-eye sunnies (sunglasses), which style is my favorite right now!

Spring into Style ! by Phdfashionista.com

Mini pleats and leather deets!

Hello loves! 

As you may know from my previous post, I was in Vegas for the weekend to celebrate my birthday! I tend to post on Mondays and Thursdays, but this outfit made me too excited to wait an extra day to post! :D 

We stayed at Treasure Island, which was cool, and we explored the Strip, ate a lot of great food, shopped, and had some nice drinks to celebrate!

It was rather chilly in Vegas, which is weird because I have only been to Vegas when it was SUPER hot in the summer... but I had packed appropriately and brought a jacket and some booties! 

Friday night we went out to dinner for my birthday at BurGR in Planet Hollywood and it was AMAZING. SO. MUCH. YUMMY. FOOD.

The next day, we walked around the Venetian (shown here), which is one of my favorite hotels. It is so beautiful and picturesque, lots of cool places to take photos!

Makeup Monday - Vegas Birthday Look!

Welcome to another edition of Makeup Monday - Vegas Birthday Look, using my Vice3 palette!

When I said this was a very versatile palette, I wasn't joking! I have used this palette to make so many different kinds of looks, that when I travel, sometimes its the only palette I need! On my birthday trip to Vegas this past weekend, we went to Tao Nightclub in the Venetian Hotel. We had such a great time, got on the Guest list and walked in for free and got some free drinks! 

I wanted to create a really glam look; I decided to go with my bold colors from the Urban Decay Vice 3 palette. 

I used a gold shade called Lucky on the middle of the lid, and added some black to the outer corner, careful to blend it nicely to create a smokey effect. 

My winged eyeliner isn't so great today, I had issues because I was about to run out of my liquid liner. But usually it comes out nice.