Sunny days and pretty prints - Summer lab wear in LA

Hello loves!

I am finally bringing you an outfit post, that I am actually wearing to work today! I shot this look a few weeks ago and never got around to posting it! I am in dire need of sleep, but my experiments leave me no mercy and I must go to lab tomorrow (its Saturday, sigh...).

But anyway, I am wearing this cute comfy outfit today since I have been wearing jeans and sneakers all week. Leggings are my favorite, although I do need a longer top to cover my bum, so this floral print floaty top is perfect! Super cute print that I have had in my closet for years now, and never fails to look great! Top is from Forever21, and leggings I believe I just got them from Ross, but you can find them anywhere - I usually get them from H&M and buy new ones when I get holes in them! Just plain black leggings. The accessories I love, because they are simple yet super cute, with gold accents! 

Summer Trends - Dresses galore!

Hello lovelies!
I've had a rather busy/stressful couple of weeks, so apologies on lack of regular posts! Busy with pushing forward a project as fast as I can before I leave the country for a conference, in addition to finding out I'm moving at the end of the month (thank you University housing for the last minute notification!), I've been a little bit of a mess with very little sleep!
In addition I have been itching to go shopping, I haven't had a chance to go to the mall/stores recently, but I have been online window shopping... every few months I decide to spend 100$ or so on some new pieces. I had been looking at new arrivals/dresses on Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, and my fashionista friends told me about Zara's summer sale on summer dresses! I was ecstatic, but I don't get paid until next month so dresses will have to wait (my online shopping cart is full and waiting! ;) ) I am tired of the clothes I have and I need some new pieces for outfits to shoot!

While online shopping, I decided to pop over to eShakti.com, and came across eShakti's new summer dresses, and if you remember back in December I had a collaboration with them where I reviewed one of their dresses, and I remember how cool it was to customize my dress. Well, here are some of my favorite upcoming summer trends, with picks from their website - and then a coupon code at the end! There are some really cool pieces that are totally lab appropriate, and the code will give you $35 off (There's a lot of stuff on sale too, so take off 35$ and you are getting an amazing deal!)

I really think this is cool - same dress, different neckline, sleeves and length!

Summer Shoe Picks - Wear to...

Hi lovelies!
With summer basically here (depending on where you live, but in LA it is summer already!), ever wonder what shoes to wear? I love shoes, but working (or basically living) in the lab really limits what kinds of shoes I can wear... must be closed-toed shoes, but on the weekends/evenings I branch out and wear a pair of my cute shoes (my closet is full of shoes!!).
Here are some picks for this summer, with selections to wear for various places.

Summer Shoe Picks - Wear to... by andreah227 

Some food for thought

Hi lovelies,

Today I bring you a post that's rather different than the rest. A more thoughtful post, coming to you straight from my heart at 4 am. Granted, there are no photos (outfit post next week!), but I still have some thoughts to share. Take it as some food for thought.

I just spent the evening in the ER with my boyfriend after he injured his leg playing sports (don't worry, he's ok!), and it got me thinking about what I really want to do with my life. 

I am a people person. I love interacting with and helping people. I see it every day when I'm at work and a student asks me a question or needs advice on an experiment. Sometimes I wish I had the opportunity to work in retail or even food service, so I can interact with more people. In some ways I feel like being at the bench all day is kind of lonely. But then again, seeing the fruits of my labor in the form of data is rather gratifying and exciting! As I was sitting in the exam room with my boyfriend, a thought popped into my head. What if I became a medical doctor after my PhD? That way I could directly interact with and impact patients. And then I thought about the sheer amount of time and debt I would get into by not doing an MD/PhD program... (darn it Andrea, why didn't you think of this sooner?!)

I am a scientist, I am a female, I am a fashionista at heart with a passion for research and helping others. I want to inspire others to do their best, while also creating something I can call my own. 

Geometric Prints and Summer in LA!

Hello loves,
Summer has officially arrived in LA (along with the official June gloom weather), but there are days in between where the sun is shining and it hits 90 degrees! Amazing beach weather, but alas, being a grad student, I am stuck in the lab while I see facebook posts about friends being poolside or at the beach! It's ok, there are some nice weather days on the weekends where I am trying to not be at work and enjoying a nice dose of Vitamin D (with some sun protection of course!)
Here is an outfit I wore out with some friends to enjoy the day! I wore this cute geometric print romper from Kaitlyn Clothing, a small boutique here in LA near UCLA, and I haven't worn it out yet, until now. And I am showing my LEGS! something that is rare nowadays because of how much I wear pants and leggings in the lab! I am a little insecure about my legs, but pairing this romper with these chunky heels, I think the look pulls together well! When I first bought the romper I didn't think it was the most flattering thing but I think it looks ok!
What do you think?

Hawaiian Luau Inspired Makeup Tutorial - Vice 3 Palette

Happy Friday loves! TGIF! 

I'm glad its the weekend! Even though I feel like I didn't get much done experiment wise, I still feel exhausted, from running around doing things I needed, and finished a final presentation for a class I was taking. Today I helped plan a End of Year party for the graduate students in our department that is Luau themed! I love anything Hawaiian themed, and it brought me back to last year when I went to Waikiki to visit my cousin! I bought the decorations and leis and I am really excited to start setting up in a few hours!

Here is a makeup look inspired by the colorful hawaiian vibes! I used my Vice 3 Palette (seriously, the makeup looks and combinations are endless!), and the colors are so vibrant, I love how it came out. I still haven't mastered the great photography techniques other makeup bloggers have mastered, but I am trying!

Florals in June - Summer is officially here!

Happy June! 

Everyone talks about how fast time is flying, but jeeze! It is already summer and I am finishing up my 4th year of graduate school! I can't believe that I am getting closer and closer to finishing! Becoming a senior graduate student is rather frightening, but at the same time super cool, as I am much more wiser and knowledgable than I was 4 years ago! And I can say I am feeling rather ready to get a well paying job to finally make some moolah! 

Well, anyway, this past weekend was beautiful, the weather in LA was nice, and I hung out with a bunch of different groups of friends -- I got brunch in West Hollywood on Saturday with some of my LA blogger friends, and then got celebratory drinks in Santa Monica that night with some lab friends. And then Sunday was followed by a nice dinner with some colleagues in Thousand Oaks. I wore this cute floral print dress from H&M (I reused it both days, oops! Fashion paux? Or totally fine if you are going somewhere new/seeing new people?). With some cute sandals and gold accessories, I fell in love with this outfit! Again, I am reusing pieces I have worn before (the accessories and sandals), which makes it nice to get multiple uses out of simple pieces!