Archives for January 2018

Matrix Hair

01/29/2018 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Lately my hair has been acting so weird and I have no idea what’s going on! Is it the weather in LA? I’ve been shopping around for new products to try, and was happy to try out 3 Matrix products this month! Here’s the low down on my current hair situation, and which of the 3 sets were my favorite…

You all know my hair is very light blonde. It used to be white, but I had to stop bleaching it due to the damage it was causing. Living in the southwest desert for a while, and then the CA coast, all the sun, dryness, and mineral water really took a major toll on my hair. I’ve been battling the constant brittle dryness for over a year, trying new products left and right, then avoiding all products after a crazy experience, and now being more educated- trusting only certain products.

It’s not an easy place to recover from, so I’m happy to say I think I’ve gained some sort of balance and can bring my hair back from the brink of destroyed with some easy steps, even while changing up products and brands.

After testing out 3 Matrix Shampoos & Conditioners this month, here are my thoughts:

Mega Sleek is probably my top choice of the three. It definitely softened my hair and even gave it a nice dense volume that was a bonus for my fine hair. I did notice a lot of shedding after getting out of the shower, but that could be of the intense cleansing nature of the shampoo.

Hydra Source was my second favorite- also great! The shampoo cleansed my hair to get rid of all the built up minerals, then I really liked the tub of conditioner that felt a little more like a super quick deep conditioner. Leave it in 1-3 mins and you’re good to rinse. I found it did hydrate my hair great! I did notice some shedding after the shower with this product as well. I believe it is a strong enough product to use without any other moisturizing products. When I added some hair oil before drying my hair, a typical routine for me, I noticed it was just a little more oily than usual and hard to keep clean feeling even with daily dry shampoo. So by itself, it’s just enough!

Color Last was my third choice, just because I don’t necessarily need to use Color Last products with my current hair color. But if you have trouble keeping your blonde or tone just right, this may be the product you want! It uses orchid with moisturizing properties to protect the color from fading. I thought this one was pretty nice! I didn’t find anything wrong with it, unlike a lot of other products I use. So I vote it’s definitely a safe option if you’re skeptical about hair products!

Over all, I hear a lot of good stuff about Matrix and I’m excited to keep trying out some new products from their different lines!

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#TakeBackInstagram is Born

01/26/2018 By Sarah Leave a Comment

On the night of January 23rd, I had just about had enough of the struggle I’ve been experiencing on Instagram. I decided the ridiculous way my account was behaving couldn’t be due to something I was doing wrong. I have spent enough time questioning my content and my self, and spending countless hour on the app to engage with users to keep up my engagement, only to see literally next to nothing in return. With all the strange penalizing happening to mine and other accounts I knew, like being shadow banned and not showing up in hashtags, I started writing a Letter to Instagram to submit through their “Something Isn’t Working” Form on the app.

About 20 minutes later, after a list of issues turned into a rant to Instagram about just how much they are ruining this community, I frustratedly shared the Letter on my Stories and went to bed.

The next morning I woke up with maybe 15 DM’s from people who were sharing my Letter, responding with shock that they weren’t the only one going through this, and the discussion began. I started sharing these crazy messages on my Stories because I realized we were all suffering in silence, thinking we were just doing something wrong, our account was broken, or Instagram was punishing us for some reason. But the truth is, there is something happening with the algorithm that is causing major trouble for ALL our accounts! The only ones who are safe, seem to be the huge “elite” celebs and bloggers that IG has protected from their algorithm and deemed “safe” from their penalizing bans.

Through maybe 100 DM’s I’ve been trying to keep up with day and night since posting my Letter, I’ve been able to put together a pretty complete picture of what’s actually happening to us, and it’s not pretty.

From accounts losing massive amounts of followers, projected growth for the year being in the negative thousands, being blocked from writing captions, being shadow banned, being restricted to following 1-2 people a day, or only certain accounts, forced unfollows of people you still want to follow, the following counter being “Stuck” at a certain number for months, though you see followers come in daily, engagement being cut in half or more, paid IG ads not bringing in any clicks or views but they take our money anyway, our posts not being shown to our followers for maybe up to a week later, and never seeing posts from people we used to loyally follow. And there’s still so much more!

If this were a service company, they’d be sued… BIG time.

The good news? You’re not alone if you’ve been dealing with these issues. The bad news? Instagram doesn’t seem to care about us or completely manipulating us to use their app longer in order to make money off us. How can they be getting away with this?

“It’s common knowledge in the industry that Instagram exploits this craving [for notifications and positive feedback] by strategically withholding likes from certain users. If the photo-sharing app decides you need to use the service more often, it’ll show only a fraction of the likes you’ve received on a given post at first, hoping you’ll be disappointed in your haul and check back again in. a minute or two. They’re tying into your greatest insecurities.” – Matt Maybury, Dopamine Labs via The Globe and Mail

If Instagram knowingly withholds likes, and bans certain actions of “spammy” accounts, what would stop them from using these “powers” to completely control any or all users on the app?! What would keep them from deciding normal people are too spammy to get normal rights to engage on the app? What keeps them from controlling the number of your following so it seems as if you’re not growing, and you’re not successful?

This is the reason I believe it’s time to speak out. So many of you had no idea this was happening to everyone, and now you can share the info to make more people aware! The more who learn about this, and the more people who speak up, Instagram will have to hear us. Our best tactic is to keep the fire burning and tell our friends, tell fellow IGers, and use the hashtag to become viral on Instagram. Another great idea submitted by someone who joined the discussion, is to leave a 1 star honest review on the Instagram App, in the App Store!

As I learn more information, I’ll update the blog with new posts! And share tips on what I find works best to keep up engagement and growth during these tough times!

Join the Movement – BE the Change!

1. Tell your friends
2. Use the #TakeBackInstagram
3. Help take back control of exposure- join #FollowFriday every week on IG Stories!
4. Post the flyers below or make your own!
5. Leave an honest 1 star review on the Instagram App!
6. Pin one a flyer to Pinterest to help spread the word!

You don’t have to tag me, but I would love to be tagged so I can see how many of you are joining in, and get to thank you! When we stick together, we make an amazing team!

Flyer for IG Stories:

Flyer for IG Feed Crop:

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Look Chic in Luxe Lace

01/22/2018 By Sarah Leave a Comment

I couldn’t feel more chic in my latest favorite outfit. Luxe Lace, my recent shoe find, and coordinating black accessories against a white ensemble… it’s all so good! It takes me right back to Paris and spending a golden afternoon in one of the many gardens of the city… Sipping on lattes from Café Kitsune under the trees at the Palais Royal gardens, eating an apricot danish and people watching at the Louvre gardens, or snacking on a baguette sandwich at Luxembourg gardens. These memories are engrained in me, and they are probably some of the happiest moments I can remember. I live for building a memoire of more experiences like these, and get heart flutters thinking of our return in March!

If there’s one thing I think adds a chic touch to your French inspired ensemble, it’s French lace of course! View french lace here, get inspired, and complete your look with luxe accessories.

Read More to see all the photos and get the outfit deets at the bottom!

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BLUSH

01/14/2018 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Somehow I always come back to loving this nude/blush/mauve sort of color scheme and it always reflects in my wardrobe and editing. I think it’s one of the most flattering tones that match any complexion, and goes with really any season.

In an earlier blog post I styled some River Island looks straight off their website, and this was one of them! This post is a bit delayed, but now that you can see it on, what do you think? I love the Euro Mod vibe, as you might know by now from reading my posts and seeing my styling. It’s such a fun look to bring some iconic edge to your outfit, and make you stand out amidst the crowd. I personally gravitate towards it because I love the European culture, the styles born out of the 50’s-60’s, and anything that includes patent leather. Go-Go boots are a must!

Read More to see all the photos from this look, and get the outfit details at the bottom of the post!

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City Vibing

01/09/2018 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Most of you aren’t lucky enough to be strutting around your city sans snow storms right now. So let me tell you about how great the weather and vibes are here in SoCal, and share a playlist that’s been the background noise to my city vibes!

I was so excited to get to work with J.Ing Limited and style some of their luxury pieces. For one, this turtle neck dress in beige is LIFE. I basically throw it on any day when the weather is between 55-65 degrees. It’s chic and soft as cashmere, and looks so flattering on. Second, this Calico coat is what dreams are made of. The vintage style is that of a Mod 60’s era, which makes my heart happy to wear over just about anything. I love pairing it with my nude Go-Go style boots for an altogether Euro look that’s perfect for a day on the go in a sunlit city.

They have some HUGE SALES going on right now, so be sure to checkout all the different discounts on their site to shop this look and more luxe styles! You get 20% off + extra 10% off when signing up.

For some reason I associate down tempo, almost “vintage” hiphop with sunny cities. So I’ve collected all sorts of odd tunes to make a new playlist for these vibes. Feel free to check it out!

And Read More to see the rest of the photos from this look, and get the outfit details!
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