September Favorites!

Is the title of this post right? Is it the end of September? I can't believe it!Autumn is officially here! My wedding is a mere two months away! (insert scream here) Anyway...here are the things I have been loving during the month of September.

Benefit Benetint: Liquid Cheek and Lip Tint $30 specialty cosmetic retailers
Maybe I'm late to the party on this, but I know a lot of people love Benetint. I got this in a gift set, so it's not a full size. I was kind of ignoring it for a while and the intention was actually to use it as a lip stain. The color didn't take that well on my lips, so I put it away for a while. Then I picked it up one day and used it on my cheeks. What a great little cheek stain this is! I didn't know if this would show up on my deep complexion, but it does and you can really build up the color. It gives you a subtle "glowing from within" look and as a bonus, it smells like roses. I think it's a little expensive, but you can often grab it in a lot of Benefit gift sets.

Naked 2 Eyeshadow Palette (Urban Decay): $54 Specialty Cosmetic Retailers
Maybe this post should be titled, September favorites that everyone else discovered 2 years ago. I bought a Naked 3 palette in April and I have been loving it. I didn't think I would get much use out of the Naked 2, but I have been LOVING this palette. I am finding it a bit more versatile than my Naked 3 for every day looks. This palette makes me feel like I know what I'm doing.

Atelier Cologne, Orange Sanguine: Travel Spray $25 at Sephora
This is now the SECOND time this has happened! I got sent this as a sample with my Sephora order in a "Niche Perfumes" sample set. I passed by it at first in favor of the Nest Amazon Lily. However, I went back to sniff it a few times. I do mess around in my perfume sample collection because it's out. Here is how I store my samples. They are next to my full size perfumes and because they are in this little acrylic drawer unit, I often go through them and play around with them.

This scent caught my attention because it smelled pretty heavily of blood orange. I didn't know I could like it so much, but the more I smelled it, the more I loved it. It also smelled really good with my body chemistry and I used almost the entire sample. So, one day after I did a voiceover gig, I stopped by the mall and picked up a travel size. It's kind of a summery scent, but I plan to wear this well into fall. If you are in a Sephora or live near an Atelier Cologne shop, definitely check them out! This scent is so special and totally unisex.

Ole Hendricksen Grease Relief Cleansing Cloths: $15 for 30 cloths at Sephora
I did NOT want to fall in love with these, but alas...they are amazing. My face is an oily mess and these cloths have a textured side and a smooth side. It won't remove your eye makeup, but it will clean up everything else (or at least, on my face since I don't wear foundation) and it makes your skin feel amazing. It's exfoliating, refreshing and smells like eucalyptus. I hate that I love these because they are so damn expensive. And that's an empty package you see there. SADNESS.

Lush Cupcake Fresh Face Mask: $7 Lush Store Locations
If you don't live near a Lush, then I'm sorry. They won't ship fresh face masks because they have to be refrigerated and have a short shelf life. This mask is for oily skin and its made with cocoa and mint. CHOCOLATE MINT ON YOUR FACE. Do I have to say anything more? this stuff makes my face feel amazing and it's only $7. Looks like brownie batter, smells like brownie batter with a mint overtone. This makes my skin feel amazing after I've used it and takes care of blemishes. Winning.

Coffee Mate Extra Sweet and Creamy: About $4 grocery stores
Okay, I feel like I'm a terrible person for having this as one of my favorites, but it's a guilty pleasure. If you live in New England or have ever been to New England...you know about the wonder of Dunkin' Donuts. I like to grab my coffee from there and have it taste like dessert, extra sweet and light with cream. Well, this stuff makes my coffee taste like I went to Dunkin' but at home. It's super sweet and super creamy just like it says. It's probably terrible for you and I probably shouldn't be ingesting so much sugar early in the morning, but I drink about one cup a day. Cut me some slack.

Lastly, I have been LOVING a dress *that was sent to be to try by the lovely folks at eShatki.com...my review is forthcoming!

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsore. All products in this post were purchased with my own money, except where indicated with an asterisk(*)

Whip-it-Up Wednesday: Organizing Tips for Renters

Good Morning, everyone! This week, I'm going to introduce the first of my series about organizing (because it's what I love to do!). I decided to begin by talking about the challenges involved in organizing a space that you rent. When you live in a home that you own, you have a lot more flexibility about what you can do with the space. If you need a closet, you can just knock a wall down and build a closet. If you need to install a custom cabinet pull-out drawer in your kitchen, you grab your drill and you go to town. If you rent your apartment, live in a dorm or rent a room, the amount you can change the space is limited. Here are some tips to help you stay organized in a rented space! I made a video showing what I've done in my own rented space. The music is pretty loud, but I uploaded it that way by accident and I'd have to remake the video to fix it. So, bear with me!

In this video I talk about:

Hooks: 

• Hooks are really great for hanging things. Hats, coats, hoodies, pot holders, oven mitts...and other stuff. If you rent your space, you probably don't want to put a lot of holes in the walls or damage the paint with permanent adhesive. I LOVE Command Hooks! These are a renter's best friend. You can do SO many things with Command Hooks and there are so many different kinds that do all kinds of different things. You can hang pictures, message boards, coats, towels, control cords...the possibilities are almost endless. There are even clear ones now!!!
• Over-The-Door/Cabinet Hooks are cool too. An Over-The-Door coat hook, dishtowel hook or bath towel hook works well in a space where you cannot drill into the wall.
• YES,  I know that all over-the-door solutions look somewhat unattractive on the other side due to the way they function. Here's where I'm going to give you a little tough love: DEAL WITH IT. Beggars can't be choosers. If it really bugs you that there are two little silvery little nubs on the other side of the door, don't use them or paint them to make them blend in. This is just the unfortunate part of the over-the-door situation.

 Under-cabinet Drawers: 

•  Can't install pull-out cabinets? NO PROBLEM! Get some drawers you can simply place in the cabinets and voila! You've got a great solution! If the drawers you get are stackable, you can use the majority of the vertical space. The ones I purchased aren't for sale anymore but here some awesome ones from Ikea. Here is also a great solution from The Container Store, which is a little more expensive, but worth the extra cost since it will basically last forever.

Freestanding Shelving:  

• Just because you can't put some holes in the wall doesn't mean you can't make the most of some empty wall space. If you're pressed for space...GO VERTICAL! My kitchen is SUPER tiny, so I built a freestanding pantry:

You can also purchase a wardrobe and use it as a pantry if you don't want to look at all your stuff. I personally like having it exposed so that I can make decisions easily. This pantry is a combination of InterMetro Shelving and Elfa Cabinet-Sized Drawer Units...both from The Container Store. Not attached to the wall, so I can disassemble it and take it with me to my next space. I also love these wardrobe solutions from Ikea.

Personalizing Your Space:

• Can't Paint? Well, you have to work with what you've got, baby! Something I haven't tried, but I'm dying to is Tempaper. Tempaper is a removable wallpaper that is supposed to be damage-free when you remove it. It looks super awesome and it's a great way to bring a little bit of personalization to a rental space if you can't paint the walls, but are bored with plain white walls. Tempaper is not a cheap solution, but I think investing in just one wall's worth of color can really transform your space. 
• Changing knobs: There have been some ugly, super boring knobs on cabinets in places that I've lived. The good news is, if you have a screwdriver, you can often easily switch out these boring knobs for some cute ones. I got mine from Anthropologie. The regular-priced ones are a little expensive, but you can grab some super cute ones on sale pretty much all the time. I only paid about $3 for each of the ones I purchased for my kitchen. I splurged for my bathroom knobs, but only because I needed two. It brightened up my kitchen so much to use these cute knobs and made it feel like it was a little more "me". JUST KEEP THE OLD ONES and replace them back when you leave ;-)
• Doing something bigger: If you really want to do something bigger like say...replace the faucets with something better and fancier...ask your landlord. There is a chance, they may even do it for you or offer to split the cost! Some changes will increase the value of the space and it may benefit the landlord to make the change. The bottom line, is that you don't want to do anything that will cause you to lose your security deposit and you always want to be up front with your landlord about what is going on in THEIR property. The worst thing that could happen is that they'll say no and chances are they'll appreciate that you at least asked.

What do you do to keep your rented space organized? I'd love to hear your tips and tricks! 

Beginning. My Bedroom Closet.

A lot has happened since I last posted to my blog. I'm not ashamed to say that some of things have been sad, but most of the things have been exciting! In the last 16 months, my entire life has changed. I moved to an apartment with 4 other roommates only to have to move again two months later! I started my own business and I have been singing a lot more! Needless to say, I have missed The Stylish Soprano and have decided to come back to my sweet little blog.

My business, Hub Neat Organizing is all about getting your space organized and clutter-free. I have had the luxury of living in a gorgeous 1100 sq foot condo for the last 5 years. It was so spacious and I had a place to put all of my things. My new apartment is 429 square feet...talk about downsizing! I had to sell a lot of furniture and get rid of many, many things. Moving is great for that. It forces you to pick up an item and say; "I don't even know why I have this!".

When I was first apartment hunting, I just wanted the place to be cute and pet-friendly and relatively safe. I actually took the first apartment I looked at because I had such a good feeling about it. Being that this was a fashion blog, you could guess that I have a LOT of clothes. I had a very large closet at my last place and this place had NO closet in the bedroom at all. The 105 square foot bedroom was a nice enough size for my bed and it had four very bright windows. Unfortunately, there is a light that shines into my bedroom windows and I had to purchase blackout curtains for every window in order to darken the room enough so that I could sleep. I already owned some Freestanding Elfa pieces that had previously been an entertainment center in my previous apartment. I just bought some additional pieces and rods and made a closet! Here is how it turned out!

 

 

Look at all those Anthropologie gems! I obviously do not have enough space to hang my dresses, but it was the best I could do. Who needs an actual closet when you have Elfa!? I am truly living in my own walk-in closet. Obviously, because I'm looking at it 24/7 it needs to be kept neat and orderly at all times. If I am living in a closet, it should look like the catalog shots from the Container Store Website. (Elfa is actually on sale right now if you're inspired to transform your space too!) I know this look is a little too open for some people, but I like to see my stuff. It isn't my total dream closet, but it's a pretty good substitute!

What are your closets like? Do you have your dream closet or do you hate your closet? Is it big or small? Is it messy or is it neat?

OOTD: Tiny Windows and Tiny Closets

Happy Humpday everyone! I was lucky enough to have the day off from my retail job and had all day to clean the house and prepare music for an evening rehearsal. It was nice and relaxing. Anyway, I wore my pink Tiny Windows Dress to rehearsal tonight with (for some reason) The Four Petal Cardi. It was a strange pairing and I didn't wear them together for more than 5 minutes (it was hot!), but I did wear them together. Why? I dunno.

And now, I thought I'd post some photos of my very small closet. I only have 48 inches width of space. I actually took out the built-ins that were in this closet in favor of Elfa which helped a lot. But, it's still a 4 foot space. I have no bureau anymore, so everything is in those little drawer units. If my husband and I were to buy this place, I would be tempted to knock out the middle portion of this closet and extend our individual closets, because as you can see...all of my stuff is crammed in there! Can you spot all the Anthro pieces? :)

The 3rd photo is the middle portion of the wall of closets which I share with my husband. He has the top two drawers and I have the bottom drawers and three shelves. A divided transparent box keeps all of my pairs of earrings separated so I don't have to go hunting for a mate of an earring once I've found one! The black and white fabric boxes have my gym clothes, scarves and tights in them.

That's all I've got for you guys! It's getting closer and closer to Friday!