Luxe By CSN $50 Gift Card Giveaway Winner!

Using random.org, the second commenter, Emily of Tomorrow Never Knows is the lucky winner of the $50 gift card to Luxe by CSN. Congrats girl!

FAQ

From styling my hair to what camera I shoot with, I'm asked a variety of questions. I wanted to finally take the time and and answer a few for you!

What camera do you shoot with?

Generally, I use my Nikon D700 and use the 50 mm 1.8 for details and use the 70-200 mm 2.8 for almost all the other shots.

Who takes your photos?

I have a few photographer friends in town and my mom will photograph me if I'm back in my hometown visiting. I occasionally do self-portraits.

As a photographer, who do you find inspiring?

My favorite fashion/portrait photographers are Richard Avedon and Annie Leibovitz. Before models showed any emotion or action in photos, Avedon had them jumping about and twirling. I love photography that shows movement and emotion. Leibovitz has the best lighting techniques. Every image of hers has such beautiful lighting.

Who is your favorite fashion designer?

If I could sum up my style it would be with anything designed by Alexander Wang. Minimalist, comfortable and rocker. I also love and am inspired by Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga.

What products do you use for you hair? Is your hair naturally that curly/huge?

I use mostly Biolage by Matrix products. I use their shampoo, conditioner, gelee and hair serum. If I want to loosen the curls in my hair, I reach for Aveda's straightening creme. I never blow dry and comb it unless I'm still in the shower, this cuts back on frizz. In the future, I'll do a more detailed post on how I manage my head of hair. And my hair is naturally curly and obnoxiously large. I straighten it maybe once a year. My hair is naturally a dull ashy blonde so I get the over all color lightened with highlights added.

What is your heritage/ethnicity?

I get this question a lot because of my hair I think. My father is Filipino/Polish. My grandma is Filipino and my grandpa was a blond-haired blue eyed Polish man. My dad in no way looks Polish and took after my grandma with thick, curly, black hair, dark eyes and skin and I inherited the big hair. My mom is a mix of white people. I should perhaps ask. Growing up, I was only questioned on my dad's ethnicity and I forget about my mom! She's not answering her phone right now either, so I'll add that in later.

What do you do for a living?

I do public relations and marketing for a government workforce development agency, Capital Area Michigan Works!. I'm also an associate photographer for Jason Aten Photography where I shoot mostly weddings. I occasionally do some freelance writing for  a couple publications and blogs.

Are you married?

Hell no. Not that I'm opposed, but too many other things are more of priority to me than finding "the one." Someday!

Why do you still live in Lansing, Michigan?

Lansing has been my home for six years. Michigan State University is located in East Lansing and I spent four years as an undergraduate student there and once I graduated I received the job offers in the area and stayed because I had a job. I'm now working on my master's degree in journalism at MSU, love my jobs and my friends here, although since it is generally a college town, people come and go all the time, sadly.

Are you connected to the fashion industry? Can you help me get a foot in the door?

I am in no way connected to anyone in the fashion industry. Sure wish I was!

If you have other questions for me, email me at kerbuski@gmail.com!

make me tame

New bag!

I'm finally getting settled into the week and it's now Wednesday. The holiday weekend was a blast--I spent some time in Detroit and my hometown near Muskegon to visit friends and family. A few highlights include the Deadmau5 concert with my friend Sarah, my friend Erin's boyfriend's uncle eating a june bug after winning the prized beer pong traveling trophy and finally swimming for the first time this summer, in a pool. I much prefer pools. My feet didn't have to touch anything icky and I didn't have to worry about swimming through someone else's urine. 

I wore the top half of this outfit yesterday to work with what has been pegged my poofy pants by my boss lady. I was privileged enough to hear her and our CEO both make fun of me, which provides me so much entertainment! If only they knew this only fuels my desire to wear more and more shit they think is weird. Our CEO even told me I looked like bullfighter in them that went through a hurricane...fair perception. I giggled so much over that comment I hurried and wrote it down in my notebook so I could remember it later.

After work, I usually just add jeans or shorts to whatever top I wore to work as I did yesterday. I decided to wear them with the cutoffs as has been my decision almost every day the last couple weeks. Love em!

[jacket by lucca couture, tank from nordstrom, shorts by levi's, bag by badgley mischka, heels by lucky]

Also, if you get a chance listen to this band I'm newly obsessed with-- Dead Confederate and listen to "the rat."

$50 giftcard giveaway to Luxe by CSN!

Luxe by CSN is offering a $50 giftcard to one of my readers! This particular site has a variety of shoes, handbags and clothing while other sites offer sales on lighting and other home decor. The gift card can be used on their other sites as well.

To enter, please leave your email address. Open to U.S. and Canada. Enter by Saturday, July 10 by midnight EST.

Simply Beautiful

Hello, darlings! I figured it was time to make good on my promise to post again, so here I am posting the very next day. I know, I'm proud of myself too!

It feels like a good time to rave about the absolute best beauty purchases I've made lately. Usually I just wash my face with Burt's Bees orange essence facial cleanser, throw on some generic drug store concealer, and call it a day, but there are two new additions to my beauty routine that are so wonderful I feel that it's my duty to share. They'll change your life - err, well, at the very least they'll change your beauty regimen - I promise. Lucky you!

Okay, first thing's first. Has anyone else tried H&M's new lip balm? It is glorious!

I usually wear plain old chapstick, because while lip gloss is more fun, I can't help but associate slickly shimmering lips with my painful middle school years. H&M's lip balm finds a perfect marriage between balm and gloss. It adds a bit of shimmer, but not too much, and it soaks into your lips just enough that you don't feel like your hair's going to stick to your mouth all day. Plus, despite the fact that it's labelled as vanilla-flavored, it pretty much just smells like warm, faint beeswax. Mmm. Doesn't taste bad, either, which is always a plus. And my perpetually chapped lips have never felt so smooth.

Moving on:

A long time ago I wrote that I was not a huge perfume fan. It seemed to me an invasion of other people's noses, one that they may not actually enjoy. However, this was before I stumbled upon The Scent That No One Could Possibly Hate. That's right - such a thing does in fact exist. And it's called Vanille Eau de Toilette by L'Aromarine.

I stumbled upon the cute French vintage-style bottle at Anthropologie the other day, and a little voice inside encouraged me to try spritzing a bit on my wrists. I sniffed hesitantly, then enthusiastically. This was it! The cheap perfume I had been looking for since I realized Serendipitous by Serendipity 3 and Pilar & Lucy's The Exact Friction of Stars were out of my price range. It smells like vanilla - warm, sugary vanilla. It's subtle enough that you could almost convince someone you weren't even wearing perfume, just lotion maybe, but strong enough that it doesn't wear away completely within a few hours. Plus, when the initial sugary scent fades, you're left with a quintessentially vanilla smell (kind of like slightly sweeter vanilla extract) that feels a bit richer and deeper than before. Mmm. It's my new favorite, especially at under $20 a pop.

My next step is to check out the rest of L'Aromarine's scents. The packaging is just too pretty to pass up! See for yourself.

Alright, folks. Have a great 4th of July! I'm off to Montreal for the weekend!