My New Glasses and Firmoo Giveaway!

Hi Loves!
I never had to wear glasses before, but with all the time I spend in front of the computer with blogging and work as well as being on my phone a lot, I have been getting a lot of headaches and migraines. I went to get my eyes checked because I noticed that my eyes would start to hurt and then I would have a cluster headache behind my eye. I went and got my eyes checked and I found out I have astigmatism and a very slight slight prescription, and also because of how much time I spend in front of a screen, the more tired my eyes get from having to focus constantly. So, I decided to get glasses to do the work for me when my eyes get tired, so my prescription is slight but it has drastically helped with my headaches and it is awesome!! Just goes to show you how slight changes in your lifestyle can affect you!

Well, anyway, a few months ago I was contacted by Firmoo Optics to test out a pair of their glasses and they gifted me a pair, and since I hadn't updated my prescription yet (I hadn't gotten my eyes checked then), I used an old prescription and while they still work for my eyes they are a little straining. You can see that post from April HERE. So with my updated prescription I bought a new pair (with my own money) and found an even more fashionable pair that I am in love with and am currently wearing as I type this post! The total cost was around $30 because there was a sale going on and they offer free lenses! Which is awesome because at the optometrist it was $60 for lenses and then super expensive frames! Firmoo gives free lenses and a couple of free add ons, or cheap add ons like glare removal, etc., and the frames are super stylish, durable and cheap!

Here is my look with these dark rimmed glasses with some gold accents! There is also a touch of purple on the frames which is awesome! Keep reading below for a chance to get your own pair from Firmoo for free (Giveaway!)

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?

How to Style an Elegant Dress - LURAP Gown

Greetings!
The science gods are smiling at me and are bringing good research vibes to me, finally, after toiling and stressing about experiments not working all last month! So I am in a pretty good mood after a successful hump day :)
Today I bring you another outfit post on how I styled an elegant dress I received from LURAP.com - that stands for L-ove UR AP-pearance, which I think is pretty clever! It is a customizable outfit site, similarly to other sites I've come across and worked with, like eShakti. They have so many cute elegant and stylish dresses, and I was very pleased with the price range! I had a really hard time deciding what piece to review, because there were so many options! Since it is fall (although in LA it still feels like summer), I decided to go with a wine colored dress. I picked this "My All Time Fav Gown," (which you can check out HERE) that was originally displayed as a royal blue (which is gorgeous!!), but I already have a couple of blue dresses. I was really digging the high neck and sleeveless gathered bodice look of the dress, as it looks so flattering on the site. As you can see, the high neck has pleats that fall into a gathered waist bodice, and the rest of the dress just falls flowingly and beautiful! This dress and the gathered waist really accentuates my curves and I am in love!
Since I could customize the dress, I picked my size based on my measurements (they have a handy size guide), and I decided to not go with a floor length gown, but instead go for knee length style and gave them my height (5' 2") so they could more exactly tailor it to my height (which is awesome! YAY!). If you read my last post about maxi dresses for petite girls, you can tell I'm a little nervous to wear floor length dresses, at least elegant fancy dresses, so this dress length was just perfect! (Anyway, I don't think I would have anywhere fancy enough to wear a floor length gown, so the knee length is perfect to wear for a special occasion or a wedding!
The back of the dress zipped up all the way to the neck and can be hard to zip depending on the type of bra you are wearing. I was wearing a more padded Victoria's Secret Bra at first and realized it wouldn't zip up, but I switched to a normal type bra and it was completely fine! So as with all pieces of clothing, test them out with different types of bras! That's my one tip!

Lurap.com is a great site, and they have various deals like Buy two dresses get one free site wide, which is awesome! If you have a special event to go to definitely check out their dresses as you can get a great deal on a custom piece!

How to Wear a Maxi Dress/Skirt Guide for Petite Women

Hi Loves!
Happy Monday! I have been in the mood for maxi dresses and skirts for fall, as I have seen lots fall inspiration with some classy dresses! As a petite girl (I am 5' 2"), I have always loved the trend but never really knew how to wear it since every maxi dress or skirt I tried was wayyyy too long! I have shorter legs and a longer torso, so most of the time normal length pants and skirts are too long for me!

I decided to do some of my own research and come up with a guide on what I found for petite girls who want to wear Maxi dresses or skirts, as well as a few dresses or skirts from some shops that I really like! Maxi dresses or skirts are perfect for fall, as the temperatures get cooler you can trap some heat and also look rather fashionable! Here are some tips and shoppable links!

1. Wear heels  - You don't have to wear sky high heels, but any length can help. Even wearing ankle booties with a slight heel is better than nothing! A good alternative to getting height without sacrificing comfort is wearing wedge heels with a platform. Heels will lengthen the leg and flatter the lower body. You want the skirt to hit somewhere between the lower and upper part of your ankle. Anything longer will cause you to step on/drag the dress/trip, and anything shorter may actually make you look even shorter! You can always go to a tailor to shorten the skirt, which can be very helpful.

2. Accentuate your waist - a big thing to help a petite girl seem taller is to accentuate the waist, whether you are wearing a dress or a skirt. A belt always does the trick, and helps elongate the line making you seem taller! Even without a belt, look for dresses that cinch at the waist, so your petite frame is not overwhelmed. You can also tuck your shirt into the skirt for a high waisted look that will make you seem taller! A skirt with a foldable waist also allows you to adjust the length of the skirt as you can roll it down.

Vanity Fair Social Club Emmys 2015 Recap - #VFSC

Hi loves,

How has your week been? I am super happy that it is Friday, it has been a rough busy week for me at work/school (what else is new? I have been complaining non stop now, sorry! haha). So I am looking forward to the weekend to relax and shut off. Today I am recapping the Vanity Fair Social Club (#VFSC) Emmys event I had the opportunity to attend, that I had such a great time at! I posted one of my outfits for the Saturday events, but I did attend Sunday as well (it was a two day event this time, the Oscars VFSC was a whole week long event!).

Going to events like these are awesome because I get to shut off from Science for a few hours and get to meet and talk to people in a whole different industry and the industry that LA is famous for - fashion and film. I am so happy and lucky to get invited to these kinds of events, as it is a nice little release from my hectic daily life!

The day started out with different talks/panelists, which was cool because they were able to bring in some stars that were actually nominated for Emmy awards on Sunday night. There were little breaks for food in between sessions, some freebies, and a mini photobooth (was actually a bed with flowers! so cool), and I got to see some blogger friends and meet a lot of new faces! I also snapchatted a lot during VFSC on both days, so if you are curious about these kinds of events I go to, you can follow me on snap chat (andreah227). I snap chat random daily things (my life isn't SO exciting), and sometimes I'm just plain silly. Do follow if you like, but I can't promise crazy events like this all the time... haha!

This is the outfit I wore on Saturday - see my previous post for outfit details, Motel Rocks dress!