San Smith

My favorite iPhone photo apps!

Ever since I got my iphone 4s I've been going crazy taking photos, and one of my favorite things to do is experiment with the cool photo apps that are available! Soooo I thought it might be nice to share a few of my favorite programs and how I like to use them! <3

 

 

Instagram

Most people have instagram or have heard of it... but for those of you who don't use it - you should check it out! It's my favorite photo sharing app! I love that you can find new people through it, see whats popular with people all over the world and also see whats popular with the friends you follow. The filters for photos you upload are super cool and there are some nice borders that are optional as well. It can also push the photos to tumblr, facebook, twitter and flickr when you upload them which I love because it saves me time! Click here for more info from iTunes.

 

 

PicFrame 

This is the app I use for making photo collages and outfit photos for my blog and instagram! It's a very handy little app when you have more than one photo you want to share and are away from a computer and want to quickly merge it all on your phone. You can add curved corners to your collage and change the background color, and there are also three pages of layout options! Click here for more info from iTunes.

 

   

PriPri Marron 

LOVE this app!! If you are familiar with purikura or sticker pictures, this app is a way to create that sort of thing on your phone! It has 6 different sections of sticker images, continuous stamps and borders along with a pen tool and ways to add text. If you wanted to take it further you could even print these out on sticker paper and use them like real purikura! I've done that a few times with my friends. Note: The last image was edited in PriPriMarron and then Princess Camera, which is mentioned below. You should definitely try out using these apps together, you can get even better results! Click here for more info from iTunes.

 

  

Flickr

Pretty straight forward... it's a mobile version of Flickr. I use this to upload photos straight from my phone so I can be lazy and avoid the step of importing them onto my computer and then uploading them. Heh! I don't use it for much else, but that feature alone makes this app dreamy for me. I love saving time and anything to keep me from having to sit at the computer is a plus! Click here for more info from iTunes.

 

 

Princess Camera

Another photo decoration app similar to PriPri Marron but with different options. The options seem to be more tailored towards making your photos "cuter" with lighting techniques and fake make up. There are little stamps and stickers you can add, but the selection is much smaller. This app is also a little more difficult to use, but the ability to enhance your appearance is still cool and worth trying. You can see I put fake bottom and top lashes, blush and little bows on myself above! I like to use this app with PriPri Marron - I'll often enhance the appearance of a person in Princess Cam, and then take it into PPM to add fun borders and details for an over the top photo. Click here for more info from iTunes.

 

  

PiciBooth 

Ahhh, PiciBooth - I love this app because it's a free photo booth, but I also slightly hate this app because you are forced to watch ads while your photos "develop"! While the ads are annoying, the overall usability and quality is pretty good for free. I only takes 3 photos with the front facing camera on a timed setting (like a real photo booth!) and it has 5 filters you can use on them afterwords. I usually crop out the logo at the bottom if I plan on putting these online or printing them out! You can see that in the photo on the left... and the giant image of me in that photo is just an enlarged area of another photo strip! They still retain a lot of photo quality after being saved so you can play around with them a bit which is awesome! Click here for more info from iTunes.

 

 

Pixlr-o-matic

This is a filter app with features that remind me of the filters in instagram but 10x more awesome. There are hundreds of combinations you can choose from - and if you look at the top right corner of the first photo there is even an option for the program to randomly select nice combinations for you! You can select light filters, overlays and frames for your photos. Best of all, it doesn't crop them like instagram does!! Very fun app for those who like to take their photos one step further. Click here for more info from iTunes.

 

Adobe Photoshop Express

Last but not least, Photoshop for your iPhone! The options on this app are limited, but its nice if you just need to adjust the photo slightly due to poor lighting or something. I think you might be able to buy additional photo editing features for the app, but I haven't looked into that since I'm thrifty with my app purchases. ;) Click here for more info from iTunes.

 

And that's it! I hope you guys like the apps mentioned and let me know if you have any favorites I should check out! Happy Friday you guys!!

 

Wheels & Dollbaby's Dita Von Teese cardigan review

So for those who haven't heard - Australian brand "Wheels & Dollbaby" mentioned on their facebook page the other day that they have restocked the coveted Dita Von Teese cardigan!! It seems the only color restocked is the black with red stitching though. Here is a link to the cardigan listing. The peach cardigan is also still listed, but with out any sizes so I'm assuming it's sold out...

Anyhow, buying these cardigans can be a little intimidating so I wanted to make a video explaining the sizing and quality of these cardigans for anyone not living in Australia. I was really lucky to be able to purchase two of these cardigans before they sold out recently - one in black and one in red, and I learned a lot through the process of buying them.

 

Detailed information on the sizing

In the video I discuss information about the sizing, stretch, and what not. As mentioned, here is the size chart from Dita Von Teese's website:

Also discussed is how Wheels & Dollbaby recently changed the way their sizing is listed on the site (#'s 1-5 vs what I assume is standard AUS sizing). As far as I can tell, this is how the new sizing compares to US sizing and their old sizing:

US 4 - AUS 8 - W&D 1

US 6 - AUS 10 - W&D 2

US 8 - AUS 12 - W&D 3

US 10 - AUS 14 - W&D 4

US 12 - AUS 16 - W&D 5

Wheels & Dollbaby does seem to run "small" compared to typical US sizing. I usually wear a US small/US 4, but in this brand I definitely wear a US 6/AUS 10, and this particular cardigan runs even smaller than their typical clothing to give a sexy skin-tight look that Dita Von Teese often rocks. If you don't like an ultra tight fit, then go up 1 or 2 sizes. 

Where to buy

• ASOS carries a small assortment of Wheels & Dollbaby, and often puts items on sale!
• Damsel in Distress in NYC - this is where I bought my red cardigan. They do not update their online store regularly though, so its better to check in person at their New York boutique. 
• Of course, there is always Wheels & Dollbaby's official site
• And if you don't live in the US or Australia, then visit this link for additional shops
• These cardigans often appear on ebay too, and are usually in the 1-5 sizing. I've seen them in peach, light blue, back, red and baby pink... The older cardigans have a "dollbaby" logo tag on the back neck area, but thats the only difference from the ones released recently. So keep an eye out for a good deal! :)

 

Here is the look I'm wearing in the video. High waisted shorts - Forever 21, V neck top - local boutique, Sheer tights - Target, Slouchy motorcycle boots - Steve Madden, Purse -  Betsey Johnson, Ring - Tarina Tarantino, and Purse Charm - Fluff.

The sweater provides moderate warmth when layered, and gives a very cute and unique look! I definitely recommend purchasing it if you are thinking about it! The item will sell out fast! 

Hope this was helpful!
If you have any questions feel free to leave in the comment area!

Makeup I love video + what I wore!

I don't know what is up with the goofy face it selected for the thumbnail hehehe... Buuut! I was kinda inspired today to finally get around making a video about my favorite make up products! In this video I mention what I wear on a daily basis, and then a few items I wear on a less daily basis. I'm not a huge makeup wearer, but I've been using the products mentioned for a while now and can definitely recommend them! 

 

Makeup mentioned in the video:

• Aveda innerlight powder foundation in 02 Aster
• Mac mineralize blush in Gentle
• Two faced shadow insurance
• L'Oreal Telescopic Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Carbon Black 
• Benefit Badgal Lash

 

• Estée Lauder 'Pure Color' Eyeshadow in ivory slipper and wild sable 
• Ben Nye magicolor cream pencil in Magenta
• Mac lipstick in Syrup
• Benefit Benetint pocket pal
• Burts Bees basic lip balm

• Urban Decay's eyeshadow in Midnight Cowboy Rides Again
• Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre
• Mac lipstick in Lovelorn and Russian Red
• Mac Select Cover Up NW15

And for the curious, this is what I'm wearing in the video! Today I met up with amazing photographer Jason Travis and had outfit photos taken for LuxeCrush.com! I had a lot of fun even though the day was kinda dreary and it started to rain. I'll post more about it when the photos are online! :) <3

Hope you guys enjoy this post! Let me know what your favorite makeup products are or if you have any suggestions for me!

 

Whooga Ugg boot review!

In January I was asked if I'd like to review a pair of Whooga brand Uggs... My feet get really cold in our little house while I work on freelance during the wintery months - so of course I said yes! I ordered their simple "Classic Short" boot in black so they would blend easily into my wardrobe on a cold day... Now that I've had a lot of time to test the boots out, I thought I'd post a review and share some info on this brand!

Logos, Sketches, Opi Shatter Polish + Hello Kitty perfume

This post is a little all over the place - but I had a few different things I wanted to talk about quickly on my break from work!

First off, here is a peek at some of the stuff I've been busy with...

Quick little portrait commission I did for a cooking/recipe site where every couple of months the girl's apron will change. It's so funny to me how many of my customers always want turquoise and pink paired together - someone commented the other day how much pink is in my work but I swear its not my choice ;) Sketches for this are after the cut.

Above are sketches for the early stage of a logo design I am working on... its almost complete - I'm just waiting to hear back from the client and the sign company. (Final design after the cut!) I think my favorite part of working on this was tinkering with the thread/heart sketches.

I've also been experimenting with OPI's Katy Perry Shatter polish (thanks to Emma!) which is pretty cool. I've never had a nail polish like this before - you paint it on as solid black on top of an already dry color, and as it dries it crackles showing the first layer underneath. Very cool effect! 

I also received a free sample of the new Hello Kitty x Sephora perfume thanks to some rewards points I had saved. What a fun surprise to come in the mail! I've been wearing it for a few days now and I really like it... its such a nice spring time scent - very warm like Viva La Juicy but with a strong scent of green apple! I love the bottle too - I think the full size has an even cuter bottle from what the website shows. The packaging is adorable too - I have some photos of it after the cut.

SO yeah! Click to read more and see more sketches + photos! (And a drawing video!)