VIRTUALLY VOGUE

Happy Thursday everyone! Welcome back to my blog. First of all, I wanted to apologize for not posting last week. There was a lot of crazy travel experiences and I chose to focus on spending time with my family during Thanksgiving weekend. That being said, today I have what I think will be a really useful post for a lot of you. As you all know by now I am currently going to school in New York but I live in San Francisco, which means I have to fly across the country for the holidays. If any of you have gone anywhere during peak holiday season you know how much of struggle it can be both financially and just logistic wise. I gathered some of my best tips for traveling during the holiday season to help all of you out. I hope you enjoy!

Hi everyone! It's officially Holiday season aka my favorite time of year. This time I am bringing you all a special fashion inspiration post for those of you who are still deciding what to wear on Thursday. I tried to pick looks for all different styles and events so that you can all have as many options as possible. All of the pieces I am wearing are from affordable brands that will help you look cute on a budget! I hope you enjoy all of the hard work I put into this and that you all have a safe and happy holiday! Without further ado, here is my Thanksgiving Lookbook for 2017:

Fall & Fabulous: 



Shirt & Overalls: Forever 21 Booties: Target


Formal Fun: 




Shirt & Skirt: Zara Shoes: Steve Madden

Cozy Preppy:



Sweater: Charlotte Russe Pants: ASOS Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Friendsgiving Flirty:



Dress: Zara Sweater: Charlotte Russe Boots: Nordstrom

Edgy Chic: 



Jeans: Thrifted Sweater: Topshop Jacket: Zara Booties: Target

Hair & Makeup Closeup: 



I hope you all enjoyed this mini look book for the holiday coming up! I hope it inspired some of you when picking out a last minute outfit for Thursday. Time for me to get packing to fly home very soon. A special thanks to Maat Bates for all of her help with this project, you're the best! See you all soon,

What is your favorite fall time look? Both in fashion and makeup. 

Well when it comes to makeup, I posted my go to fall makeup look a few weeks ago! You can check it out here: http://virtually-vogue.blogspot.com/2017/10/fall-makeup-tutorial.html. It is a lot of warm toned oranges and maroons, the perfect colors for the season! When it comes to fashion, picking my single favorite look is impossible haha. I will say, however, that so far this season I have been loving wearing turtleneck sweaters, a skirt, tights, and boots. I will usually accessorize with a scarf, a beanie, and a warm coat. Stay tuned for some fall outfit inspiration coming on Sunday! 


What are your favorite things about SF? What are your favorite things about NYC? Which do you like better? 

Ok, so this question has been on my mind constantly the past three months. The simple answer, I haven't been in New York enough to say I love it more than San Francisco. I have always been and will always be a Bay Area girl and nothing will ever compare to my home. I think my favorite part of San Francisco is how you can get the "best of both worlds" (throwback to my Hannah Montana days lol), by that I mean you can get the fun and business of a city in Union Square but then drive 10 minutes and be enjoying the tranquility of the beach. In terms of New York, I love how there is always something to do no matter where you go. You can literally be walking down the street and come across a festival, someone famous, a new boutique, or a new delicious restaurant. They're both amazing and I am so blessed to be able to experience both. 



In terms of beauty and self care, what are some challenges the weather in both SF and NYC pose? 

The weather in both places is pretty different and so is the social environment in general. I think that San Francisco is much more laid back and self care is such a huge part of the culture -- there is a yoga studio probably on every other block lol. The constant fog and sea breeze can be both good and bad because the air is really clean and salt water is known to do wonders for your skin and health in general. If you're the type of person who has skin that struggles in cold weather, San Francisco may not favor you especially because sometimes it feels like you haven't seen the sun in days. Now, for me personally, moving to New York in the summer was a nightmare for my skin to say the least. First of all, the air is filthy and that made me break out instantly and on top of that the humidity brought out all of my oils (gross!). Now that it's getting really cold, my skin is constantly dry so I really can't win here lol. In terms of self care, I really don't think New York is the best place, because everything is constantly moving and sometimes it feels like it's been weeks before I have come up for air and gotten a good nights sleep. If you seek out relaxation, however, you can definitely find it and sometimes that just means having a pint of ice cream with your girls one night. 


What are your favorite colors to wear in your clothes and in your makeup for every season?

Fall: Clothes- burnt orange, maroon, black, off white, mustard yellow, forest green. Makeup- red, orange, gold, brown (eyeshadows) and berry, dark brown, and burnt orange (lips).

Winter: Clothes- white, red, black, dark green, shades of brown, faux fur. Makeup- red, gold, brown, green, purple (eyeshadows) and a red lip almost every time lol. 

Spring: Clothes- pastels (yellow, lavender, dusty rose), florals, white, light blue, denim. Makeup- also pastels, rose gold, silver, pink (eyeshadows) nude pink, shimmery glosses, grey (lips). 

Summer: bright colors (yellow, orange, pink) white, denim, blue, florals. Makeup- orange, pink, red, blue, purple, rose gold, gold (eyeshadows) and pink, red, shimmery glosses (lips). 

Really good question, it took me a while to think about this haha. 
I know you've had an ipsy subscription, how well would you say they matched the products to you and your needs/are there any other boxes you would suggest people buy/ that you would want to try out?

Personally I think Ipsy is a really great company if you use it correctly. You have to be pretty accurate in your original quiz when you first join and I HIGHLY recommend you rate the products you receive because they take that input and use it to improve your future bags. I think there were very few products I didn't like over the year I had them but it does make you a bit of a hoarder I will say lol. I do want to try Birchbox at some point to get products aside from makeup. For the guys: my brother has a monthly subscription called Sprezzabox which he seems to love so check that out if you want!




Are there any beauty traditions from your culture that you pull inspiration from or that you simply admire?

I love love love this question I must say and this will probably turn into a longer post at some point but for now I will share some of the basic things I have discovered. Now this may be an obvious answer but when it comes to makeup, red lipstick is such an iconic part of Latinx culture and I always remember seeing Selena and older women in my family rocking a red lip and wanting to be able to wear it myself. I think that Latinx women are just so bold and resilient and that shines through in the way they style themselves -- they aren't afraid to take risks but also keep their traditional looks at heart and this is something I have learned over the years. In terms of hair I have always seen braids and curls as an integral part of my culture and I always look back at the way my mom would style my hair and wish she still did haha. In terms of fashion I think white linen style clothing as well as colorful embroidery is a huge part of our community and it is just so so beautiful. There is just so much to love it makes me so happy. Here's one of my inspirations, my grandma ❤️:



Who are some of your favorite beauty Youtubers?

There are so many but I will choose 10: Zoella, Jaclyn Hill, PatrickStarrr, Jackie Aina, BretmanRock,  KathleenLights, MannyMua, Bella Fiori, Desi Perkins, NikkieTutorials.

Maybe this is a question for after we have survived the winter months here, but any tips for staying glamorous and fashionable while battling snow wind and rain? Is it even possible to look (and feel) as effortless as the models in the down jackets? Or is it a lost cause and will it always end in red cheeks and chapped lips?

Let me start by saying that we will never look like the models in down jackets because that involves so much styling, photography, and heavy editing haha. I think in terms of skin you should try to moisturize constantly so that you don't get dry patches and always carry around some lip balm. If you want to put a full face of makeup on I would just say make sure you set it with powder and setting spray to try to lock it in place as much as possible before going out. If all else fails, just embrace your natural red cheeks and strut down those snow covered streets! 



In terms of conduct and behavior, how do Californians and Newyorkers compare?

I feel like this question is going to get me into a bit of trouble haha. I may be biased but in my experiences thus far, I definitely think Californians are much friendlier. I think you feel a sense of community in both places but New Yorkers are constantly on the move and it is easy to feel ignored or isolated in such a large group of people. There are obviously exceptions because there are mean Californians and incredibly nice New Yorkers but if I were to make a sweeping generalization I think you are more likely to get a smile while walking down the street or help with your car if you are in California. (if any New Yorkers are reading this don't hate me! haha). 

How do you stop yourself from buying literally all the makeup?

Yikes, I don't know if I do lol. I think I try to watch a lot of Youtube makeup reviews before I purchase something so that I can avoid buying a disappointing product solely for the hype. If you ever go to Sephora with me I will stay there for hours and swatch everything until I go crazy because I want so many things. I have to keep my budget in mind so I try to only get things I really need or am absolutely in love with. 

Thank you to everyone who messaged me a question, this was so much fun! I will definitely be doing this again soon so keep more questions in mind. As always, I appreciate your support! See you soon for an exciting post, 

Hi friends! I have finally come up for air after a couple of weeks of midterms. My first set of college midterms was stressful but I was able to overcome them successfully. Now I finally have some free time to sit down and write a post about my best tips for getting through testing. Also just need to point out that NY cold is no joke, it was 25 degrees out and my poor California self was freezing! Anyways, here are my best tips for getting through midterm season.

1. Create a study schedule: time management is probably one of the hardest parts of college. You have free time during the day because you're not in class from 8-3 like in high school but you also have so much going on and naps always seem like the thing to do. But you have to stay strong and plan out when each of your tests are so that you can get ahead in studying and not be cramming the night before.
2. Turn your phone off: The reason I tend to procrastinate a lot is because I get easily distracted by social media. Although it requires a lot of willpower, turning your phone off will really help you focus until you get what you need to done. 
3. Sleep: I feel like I say this all the time, but sleep is SO important! If you have been studying all night before your test and your brain just can't retain any more information, just take yourself to bed and go to sleep. You will do better on your test with a full night of sleep, it's been proven -- all nighters are really bad for you!
4. Use all the resources you can: If you're confused about something, meet with your TA's or your professor and get everything cleared up before the test. My personal favorite study tool is Quizlet which is an online resource to create flashcards and they have a system called "Learn" which is so helpful for really solidifying all of the terms you're trying to remember. 
5. Prioritize your education: in college there are constant incentives to go out or do things aside from studying. Just remember you don't have to always be out in order to be "cool," sometimes a night in is exactly what you need and you should give yourself the room to do so. Stay focused friends!
6. Eat a good breakfast: The day of a major test you should try to have a big breakfast to give you the energy you need to get through the day. It may require you to get up a little bit earlier but it's good for your brain :) 
7. Look good feel good: when I was a freshman in high school, someone told me that he would dress up every time he had an important test because the better he looked the better he felt going into it. This is totally personal preference but if you want an extra boost of confidence, put on your favorite outfit and walk out there feeling good!