Pearl & Clasp - Beautiful Elegant Earrings

Hey everyone! 

Happy Monday!

I wanted to feature a classic accessory I styled in my fashion post last week - when I styled this MakeMeChic dress, I accessorized with some simple white and blue pieces that I featured, but I wanted to focus on these classic Dangling Freshwater Pearl earrings from Pearl & Clasp.

They have a huge selection of freshwater pearl stud earrings to choose from, but I felt that these dangling earrings were in my style as I don't wear many studs, and these ones were perfect. These little pearls are 5-6 mm and are "A" quality as far as pearls go! They are super pretty and just a classic addition to any outfit, for going out, for lab, or even workwear/conference wear! I even wore these during the holidays, was a really nice and classic look along with simple and dressy outfits!

Holiday Gift Guide with Minu Jewels!

Hello loves!

Happy Friday! Are any of you shopping today for Black Friday deals?  I can't believe its already almost the end of November, and thanksgiving has come and gone! Now to the December holidays and the new year!

I am trying my best to not spend money, as I am on a graduate student budget and my credit card bills and utilities are through the roof, and I have to save money for my upcoming trip, but a girl can dream right?? So making a wishlist/gift guide is what I am doing instead!

I am gearing up for a trip to visit my boyfriend's family in two weeks, and I am flying to Jordan, my first time in the middle east! I am really excited because it is the first time I have ever not spent Christmas time with my family, but it will be worth it to explore new things and places! My wanderlust bug is in full effect!! And what better way to prep for a trip to the middle east than by indulging in some mediterranean inspired jewelry from Minu Jewels. 

I was introduced to this brand by my good friend Chantal from Boyajian Trend Gallery, who curated a selection of jewelry from various designers, including Minu Jewels. I instantly fell in love with the various collections, handmade by the designer herself, Mina. And those of you who have been following me from the start, know about how much I LOVE statement jewelry and pieces; it is part of my identity at this point.

Here are some of my picks, for those of you who need gift ideas for that special fashionista, and not quite sure what to get. These are so pretty and fashionable, excellent statement pieces for any occasion, even wearing to the lab! 

           

STATEMENT NECKLACES
Tye Necklace	Turquoise Slice	Egyptian Turquoise Necklace
Rasha Necklace	Felisa Necklace	Bedouin Turquoise Necklace
Hala Necklace	Daria Necklace	Druzy Necklace

Fabulous Accessories for the Holidays - Accessorize with Montana Silversmiths

Hello!
Happy Thanksgiving! Here in the US this week is all about giving thanks, and appreciating what you have. And more importantly, its about taking some much needed time off from the lab!
I just finished some long days/late nights of just writing writing writing, and sent off a final draft to my labmates for revisions before sending off to the journal for *hopefully* acceptance for publication! So I left lab early on this pre-Thanksgiving afternoon, and I jumped right on to get some blog posts written for you that I have lined up!
I have a small holiday wishlist, and a lot of those things on my list are accessories, and pieces I can match with clothing and outfits I already own. A great way to spice up your outfits is by adding some extra bling and pizzazz with your accessories, including earrings and necklaces!
I am a big lover of dangly and sparkly earrings, in addition to pendant necklaces, so when I discovered Montana Silversmiths Jewelry, I was a huge fan of their selection of really pretty pieces. They have a lot of timeless, classy earrings and necklaces, and it was hard just choosing a few to style!
Here are a few of their pieces I was sent to style, and they are my favorite! I fell in love, and they are super affordable and great quality pieces that will last.

First, I styled these Retro Flair Open Fan Earrings with a casual outfit I wore to the lab, and they were super pretty and stylish. In addition, because they had some bling on them, they really stood out in contrast with my dark hair!

Going Out/Conference Formal/Social outing Look - Recycling Pieces to make the most of your Wardrobe

Happy Monday!

Today I'm bringing you a new outfit post featuring recycled pieces that you might have seen on the blog before (Ie. in this holiday outfit post HERE). Since I've spent a lot of traveling lately, my bank account is crying right now... so I decided to recycle pieces to create a whole different look!
In this outfit, I wore the bright red lace top I featured  before, with a black bandage mini skirt from Topshop from a few years ago! The outfit was simple and I wore my favorite Nine West heels that I have worn at conferences and are comfy enough to wear for a few hours. This is an outfit you can wear to a conference social (I wouldn't wear this to give a talk, but for getting drinks after the conference is over, I think it's fine!).
The accessories make the outfit shine, and I am rewearing one of my favorite bracelets, the Tassel Bracelet from the Yayoi Collection from Boyajian Trend Gallery, and a rhinestone bracelet from H&M I believe (given to me by my friend Samira!).
I used my little black pocketbook that doubles as a wallet from Express. and I curled my hair using my flat iron. If you are paying attention to my social media, I did cut my hair recently, so this was taken before I cut my hair (and I'm missing my long hair! T_T), but I will have some tutorials soon about styling short hair for the lab!
The best thing about this outfit? I didn't spend a dime, and I created a somewhat different look/look for a different occasion.

Conference Style Guide: What kind of Handbag to bring to a Conference

Hi loves!
Since I have been to so many conferences this past year (and still on planning on going to a few more before I graduate), I have become experienced with what kinds of bags work or don't work for carrying your things at conferences without sacrificing style!
I am coorganizing a symposium at the ASBMB 2016 Meeting in San Diego in April, and hopefully attending another conference or two by the summer - so there are a lot of opportunities to network but so many opportunities to be stylish as well!

What do you usually carry with you at a conference?

Fringe Kimono and Amethyst Gemstone Necklace - Anjolee Necklace Giveaway!

Hello lovelies! Happy Monday!
I am currently on a high note because I received some good news about my paper, what an amazing way to start my Monday!!! :D Hope you are also having a great start to your week!

Spring/Summer is officially here in LA, and the weather is warming up! Although it has been getting rather chilly at night. Since I have posted multiple times about how obsessed I am with fringe, what a better way to incorporate that into my outfit than a floral kimono cover up with fringe! I have been wearing leggings a lot lately, and I wore this outfit to lab the other day, just with ankle booties instead of sandals! That way, I was still covered up and warm while still being rather fashionable. A simple black outfit underneath (tank top and leggings from Forever 21) with some accent pieces on top!
Since the floral print and fringe made enough of a statement for this simple all black outfit, I decided to pair with a simple diamond pendant necklace I got from Anjolee.com, featuring my birth gemstone, amethyst with some really pretty cubic zirconias in set in silver!

Casual transitional outfit - Work to Going out - Earth tones!

Hello Loves! Happy almost Friday!

Today I bring to you an outfit that I frequently wear to work, as it is comfortable enough to wear to lab, and with just a change of shoes, I can easily wear this to go out after work without having to go home to change!

I LOVE earthy brown tones mixed with black. You would think they don't go well together, but in this outfit, I think they go very well! Accented with gold/black/brown/ivory accessories, I think it is a great outfit! 

I wore a black tanktop underneath this flowy blouse-type shirt that I can easily take in/have worn with a black skinny belt, and some plain black leggings. I got this blouse at a small local shop during my trip to Hawaii this past labor day. 

I have been itching to find an excuse to wear my leopard print heels, and this outfit was a perfect combination of colors for that! They were pretty comfortable to wear as well. 

I accessorized with some bangles that I have worn before in other outfits, a gold chunky necklace from Charlotte Russe, a Bisous white Mother of Pearl Ring from Boyajian Trend Gallery, a Yayoi Blanched Almond Bracelet also available from  Boyajian Trend Gallery, and a black clutch that doubles as a wallet from Franco Sarto. 

I also curled my hair quickly using my straightening iron, and did not add any hairspray -- and surprisingly my curls stayed for a while after taking these photos! I was shocked. Must be the humidity (or lack of ) in LA that made them last! Usually they fall out rather quickly!

As far as makeup, I went rather neutral, and just a nice pink lipgloss. I wanted to keep the focus on my outfit that I fell in love with! 

Semi-formal Presentation Outfit

I had to present my research in front of a seminar class on Monday, and I was rather nervous. I had to summarize my last four years of data into a 40 minute presentation in front of my peers and professors! Since it was just for a seminar class, I didn't have to get all dressed up, but I still wanted to look presentable and nice! This is what I wore, and used accessories to add some flair!

                  

Conference Fashion with Statement Pieces

Some fun news -- I will be a Meeting Blogger for a conference I will be attending for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) at the end of March in Boston!
I'm really excited because I will get to blog about the science and fashion! I will be presenting my research in a poster session, as well as attending talks from renowned researchers, networking, and making connections with scientists! Stay tuned for outfit posts from the conference as well as some scientific posts - not sure yet if I will be posting here but more info to come soon!

Here is a professional conference look I styled with some statement pieces -  a plain white tank top with a pretty black pencil style skirt with pleats, a perfect canvas for bright, colorful accessories!

I fell in love with this Sasassi Necklace from the Minu Jewels collection of Boyajian Trend Gallery, as well as a lovely green cocktail ring from their Ona Chan collection! I also included a basic Black Gold bracelet from the Yayoi 'Element One' Collection, also available at the Trend Gallery! It was such a cute, subtle, but still statement piece, and very unique from other bracelets I have seen/own/worn!

Graduation Fashion Styles - Motel Rocks!

It's been a stressful last couple of weeks, with finals and research deadlines....so sorry I've been MIA -- but I am back and I have a lot of posts planned for the next couple of days/weeks!

First of all, I recently purchased some really cute clothes from MotelRocks.com, I used to be obsessed with their clothes but I found that on my grad student salary and higher rent I couldn't afford the cute things they had, but there was a sale and I used a code for 20% off (use my code "andreah227"for 20% off your order!!) and how happy am I that I bought these!! I had to go to the post office to pick up my parcel and it was great timing because I was having a hard time trying to decide what to wear to UCLA's graduation ceremony!

A lot of my friends just graduated with their PhDs!!! SO proud of them! And my boyfriend also graduated! Can't wait for my turn in 2-3 years! :)

I was also meeting my boyfriend's parents for the first time so I wanted to make a good impression. The Motel dress was PERFECT! and I estimated my size perfectly, I was worried it wouldn't fit. Last time I ordered from Motel the dress was too small, so I ordered a medium this time. This is the Motel Girly Skater Dress in Nude Lace (Cream).
What do you think of this dress?

 

What I'm wearing right now!

I wore this dress on a night out to a club in Downtown LA! I originally bought this dress to wear to a wedding in August but then realized you shouldn't wear black to a wedding! So it just sat in my closet. This was the perfect occasion to wear it! You can't see in the picture (I didn't get a good pic, I tried) but in the back of the dress there is a little cut out so you can see some of my back.

What do you think?

Dress - Guess
Necklace - New York and Co.
Belt - Kaitlyn Clothing
Shoes - Charlotte Russe
Purse - Aldo

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1gm7yms April 12, 2014 at 01:45PM

Statement pieces!

Ever since going to Cyprus for vacation, I have been in love with chunky necklaces and statement pieces. I decided to order a couple of necklaces from Charlotte Russe that were on sale for $5!! So pretty and such a great deal!
Here's what I got!

Style haul! In memory of Talia!

So this post is in memory of CoverGirl Talia Castellano. I don't know if you have heard of this girl, but she was probably the most inspirational little girl I have ever read about. At only 13, she was fighting two types of cancer. She was able to fulfill her dreams of becoming a make up artist and had her own successful youtube channel and also appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show and was an honorary CoverGirl! She has accomplished so much and has been so strong, I don't know how she did it for so long. She passed yesterday, and it made me so sad to see her fight finally end. She looked at the bright side of everything, no matter how grim the situation seemed, and "just kept swimming." Rest in peace beautiful angel! I aspire to be as strong as you!

Taliajoy18