The Clunkster

Happy New Year!

Outfit of the DayKristenComment

new setting! welcome to my apartment!

Happy New Year! It's finally 2018! This year, more than any other, I'm excited to move into a new chapter of life and leave this horrible year in the past. As far as the blog goes, I'm back, and I'm here to stay! Taking a semester off from The Clunkster has given me time to focus on myself and my schoolwork. The time to myself has given me more time to reflect on what exactly I want this to turn into, so I'm really excited to put some new ideas into motion. I started with a new layout, and I'm in love! It's something I've been wanting to do for a while, so I'm really happy I took the leap! 

My past couple New Years Eves have been pretty boring, so this year I took a trip back up to Boston for the weekend to ring in 2018 with my best friends! We had an amazing time. I'm so thankful for them. This outfit is courtesy of one of my best friends in the whole world, Nico, who gave me the shirt and skirt for Christmas! He told me he had a "vibe" in mind for me when he picked it out, and he really hit the nail right on the head. The crop top is sooooo comfortable! I love the way it fits me loose across the shoulders. The skirt also fit me perfectly. It's not a color I'd usually wear, but it was a fun risk to take! I was ridiculously comfortable, too. As always, I wore these spanx under my skirt. These pieces look great together, and I'm so excited to play with them in my wardrobe!

shirt (similar). skirt. stockings. booties (similar). sunglasses. lipgloss.

I finished the look off with some black stockings and my favorite black booties. I straightened my hair, and went to town with my makeup. I got a lot for Christmas (which I'll be posting about eventually hehe), so I've been playing around a lot! I used some darker gold and brown shades from Urban Decay's Naked3 palette on my eyes (I really wish I could tell you exactly which one but I honestly can't remember what I used!), put on a ton of mascara as usual, and finished off my eyes with some winged eyeliner. I've never known how to do a cat eye, and I've never felt the need to learn since I don't usually look good with eyeliner, but this eye look was really asking for it. 

I contoured my face (another new development!) with Too Faced's Cocoa Contour palette, and wore my Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Sanctuary. I was SO happy with how my makeup turned out, really with how my entire look turned out. I felt hot, comfortable, and ready to ring in 2018! Stay tuned for lots more content from me, coming soon. Thanks for sticking around. 

Pants???

Outfit of the DayKristenComment

Shirt/Dress (from Boston Harley Davidson). Tights. Boots (no longer being sold at Primark). Sunglasses. Lipstick (in Sanctuary).

Okay, so I've been seriously digging the long-shirt-no-pants look that artists like Ariana Grande and Halsey have been slaying. After my uncle passed away, I took a bunch of his really cool shirts with the intentions of either cutting them into crop tops and tank tops, but also to leave some as dresses. Here's one that survived! 

This shirt is one of the most comfortable things I've ever put on my body. I actually bought this for him at the Boston Harley Davidson a couple years ago. I made a good choice! This shirt is perfect to wear as a dress because it comes down to a length that's pretty cheeky, but still looks like I'm wearing a dress instead of a shirt with no pants. And I love how long the sleeves are!

Obviously, this summer has got me super down. I haven't wanted to get dressed or do my makeup or do anything. But today I put on my tights, Clunkster boots, and dark lipstick, and I really felt like myself again. 

Flouncy and Flirty

Outfit of the DayKristenComment

what the fuck is going on with my eye

Tank (no clue I'm sorry). Shorts. Sneakers. Sunglasses.

This is a different look for me! Yes, it may still be dark, but it's a little more ~cute~ than I have been lately. I got this adorable shirt from my cousin, and I'm in love with it. I love how flouncy and flirty it is! My cousin has the best taste, and I'm so thankful that we're the same size. 

The rest of my outfit is relatively simple, just my jean shorts and black Converse. My hair is super straight because I actually brushed and straightened my hair for the first time in a hundred years. I feel like myself again! 

Good Look Good Vibes

Outfit of the DayKristenComment

Shirt (no longer being sold at Mystique Boutique NYC). Bralette. Shorts. Sneakers. Sunglasses.

I don't know why, but I feel like this outfit is very West Coast, which I love, since I love the West Coast. I love wearing this Good Vibes Only shirt, but I can only wear it on breezy days. I think it's because it's so thin, but I get some nasty pit stains when I sweat in this shirt! I wore it with my bralette since it's 100% a bralette shirt. 

My denim shorties also made an appearance, as well as my white Converse. Later on in the day I wore this with a flannel, and it looked pretty cute! Overall, it's a chill outfit for a chill day. 

Makeup Monday

Cruelty-FreeKristenComment

When I first started using brushes to apply my makeup, I used to spritz some e.l.f. Daily Brush Cleaner on them whenever I was done. But one day, I ran out, and I never purchased it again, not because it was bad, just because I kind of forgot. And now that I think about it I haven't actually cleaned my brushes for about three months, which is disgusting. It may be the reason I've been breaking out a TON lately. So, I decided to try a product that I've had in my makeup bag for a while, but have never had the chance to try, e.l.f.'s Brush Shampoo. 

Today, I cleaned my foundation brush, blush brush and concealer brush, which are all made by e.l.f. The directions on the bottle say to wash them in warm water and work a small amount of the shampoo from the base of the bristles up, and that's exactly what I did. Since the concealer brush is super small, I didn't really have a problem cleaning it, and my blush brush didn't seem to be that dirty. 

My foundation brush was a whole other story. As I was washing it, caked up foundation started oozing out of it, which I figured was a good thing! But I was washing this brush for like ten minutes, and old makeup was still spilling out of it. I put it to the side and tried again, and it just kept coming. Now that all of my brushes are dry, I realized that the shampoo really didn't do anything for the foundation brush. When I fan out the bristles, I can still see my makeup in between them, and I get crap all over my fingers. 

e.l.f. Concealer Brush

So to be honest, even though I love e.l.f.'s products, this one was definitely a disappointment for me. Maybe I'll see a bigger difference when I use my brushes to apply my makeup, but I'm kind of afraid to use my foundation brush now knowing that there's still so much stuff in it. I feel like I should just buy a new one. I'm extra disappointed because I used a shampoo made by e.l.f. on e.l.f. products, so I thought they would work really well together. I guess I was wrong.

Now that I've had this unfortunate wakeup call, I'm on the search to find a brush cleaner that actually works. I heard that coconut oil is a good one! At least this brush shampoo is cruelty-free, though. If you’re interested in going cruelty-free, check out PETA’s Searchable Database and Cruelty-Free Kitty’s alphabetized list of cruelty-free brands. If you have any cruelty-free recommendations, please comment them below!