NYX Filler Instinct Review | NYX Filler Instinct Beach Casual

April 11, 2022 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

A few weeks ago I shared my thoughts on the NYX Filler Instinct Plumping Lip Gloss and today I want to share my thoughts on the NYX Filler Instinct Plumping Lip Color in Beach Casual.

NYX Filler Instinct Lip Color in Beach Casual

The NYX Filler Instinct Lipstick in Beach Casual is the perfect nude-y pink color and I love how I can swipe it over my lips, even without a mirror, and get the best your-lips-but-better lip color. It feels good on the lips. As far as plumping? I don’t notice the tingling sensation as I do with the NYX Filler Instinct Lip Polish, but maybe a slight cooling or minty feel. I love to apply the Beach Casual with no lip liner, no muss no fuss, and then add a bit of the NYX lip gloss over the top.

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How-To Style Trousers | The Best Trousers For Her 2022

April 4, 2022 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

I have talked about my jeans rut and today I want to share how I am incorporating trousers into my routine. I love that with my career I get to wear what I call “snappy casual” (any other sorority gals out there call it this?): jeans with a blazer type of vibe. However, I got caught in a trap of wearing jeans every.single.day. But now I am a trouser convert, and maybe by the end of this post, you will be too.

How-To Style Trousers For Her

My favorite trousers are from Abercrombie. I have also seen great affordable options on Amazon that may be an option if you’re looking to see if this trend is a fit for you. I also have my eye on a pair of Banana Republic trousers.

Trousers Aren’t Just For the Office

You look incredibly stylish and chic but they’re more comfortable than jeans. I have worn them with a crewneck sweatshirt and sneakers and dressed them up with heels and a blouse. They’re incredibly versatile and you instantly look like you know something about fashion. Jeans and a tee or trousers and a tee? They also come in all the basic neutrals, or in fun pops of color if that’s your vibe, AND you can find them in countless styles (wide leg, straight leg, skinny, boyfriend, cargo, and on and on).

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Abercrombie Linen Pants (new favorite for spring/summer)

Tailored Wide Leg Pants (my FAVORITE trouser! So comfortable AND so chic)

Tailored 90s Relaxed Pants (I wore these for my family birthday dinner and to see Bachelor Live On Stage)

Banana Republic Wide-Leg Pants (stunning. Just, wow!)

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It’s been a fun run | LeahTackles turns 8

March 14, 2022 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

On Saturday this blog turned eight. EIGHT. E.I.G.H.T years of blogging. I started with three posts a week, then eventually down to two, and now I post once/week, but I have never, ever missed a post. That’s something I am proud of, and also something about myself that I grapple with, I am too the max to a fault at times. Today I want to share a few thoughts on this blogging journey, and a couple of birthday snaps.

How [and why] It Started

I’ve always been a writer. In fact, I got into Michigan State with an essay talking about how I was going to major in Journalism and Apparel and Textile Design so that I could be a fashion magazine writer. I ended up switching to Advertising and Public Relations, which is funny because when I started this blog I didn’t work in either field but now I’ve mushed them together into my own business. Phew. Okay, this is a tangle but we’ll get there. Likely the only person reading this is my mother, and I want this for my own memories.

When I was pregnant with our middle child YouTube became my escape. It was the hardest time of my life, but somehow at a time when I couldn’t care less about my appearance, watching makeup videos by the OG beauty influencers was an escape. I was hesitant to start YouTube [I did end up starting YouTube about one year later] so I decided to begin with a blog. After months of preparing the blog design and learning as much as I could without diving in I had my first post planned for my birthday. I ended up having a DNC the day before and still posting because I had promised myself that I would do it to have something for me, using my skills. So after crying and spending all day in bed eating Twix bars, I took some pictures and got it done.

It’s evolved and changed, and I’ve thought about stopping but it’s a way to force myself to keep writing, and I pay for the domain hosting to keep the years and hundreds of posts. I enjoy the consistency, and like to think that the practice of writing has helped me with published articles (they’re better done than these posts, sorry), writing for work, and the Christmas movie screenplays I am working on (if you have connections at Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix, etc let me know).

If you follow along, even just from time to time, thank you!

My 35th Birthday Celebration

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Cuddl Duds Thermal | A Winter Wardrobe Staple

February 21, 2022 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

Ladies, we need to talk thermal shirts and how to wear them. They are not just for when you’re skiing or out in the elements. I am a 90’s kid through and through, and like most girls who grew up in the ’90s and aughts, I wear cami tanktops with almost everything. I now will wear shirts without them in the summer months, and I don’t layer them with t-shirts as I used to do (thanks to bras like this). But I realized in the winter I was reaching for sweaters every single day instead of my blouses and blazers, and then I heard a woman say she wore thermals underneath her workwear and my mind was blown [silly or not, it’s true!]

The Best Affordable Thermal Tops – Cuddl Duds

I have a black thermal turtleneck but really only wore it skiing until now. I recently snagged this white thermal top and it works perfectly under blazers, workwear tops, AND my beloved sweaters.

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Do you have a favorite thermal? I’d love to hear what you love!

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A Must-Have Pink Tweed Blazer | Express Tweed Blazer

February 14, 2022 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday! And, Happy Valentine’s Day!

I wear neutrals, mostly beige, cream, grays, and blush, with a bit of black. I don’t wear patterns, but I love classic materials and prints like tweed, houndstooth, stripes, and so on. I saw this Plaid Boucle Pink Tweed Blazer from Express shared by one of my favorite fashion bloggers, Amanda John, and while it’s a bit more bubblegum than the blush and nude pinks I typically consider a neutral I was willing to make an exception ; )

And a quick note about cost, I did get it on a bit of a sale but what I do when I want a new piece but don’t want to or can’t fit it into my budget, I sell things on local BST pages and make it a game. In a few days, I had enough to justify and pay for this jacket.

Plaid Boucle Tweed Jacket

This jacket is a gorgeous boucle (pronounced boo-clay and meaning a loosely woven material made with fancy yarn, which has tiny loops or curls. Derived from the French word for “curl”, this type of cloth can be made in a single color or in a combination of several shades) of pink and white threads with a little bit of a clear, shimmery thread that gives the most stunning bit of sparkle without any actual glitter/sparkle/sequins or anything else that would look, in my opinion, less chic. It is fully lined with a pretty light pink. The style is cropped, but not too cropped, it hits about 1.5 inches below the waist of my high-rise jeans. It is structured in the shoulders, but it isn’t too much padding. It is very comfortable to wear and looks amazing with straight-leg jeans, white jeans, or black slacks.

How I Styled It

I wore this with a pair of mom jeans and this Cuddl Duds thermal underneath.

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Pink Express Tweed Jacket

Do you have any tweed in your wardrobe? I’d love to hear where you like to shop for tweed (enable me!)

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How-To Wear Vegan Leather Pants | Neutral Leather Pants

February 7, 2022 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

Confession time: I’ve been in a jean rut. I recently bought a pair of neutral pinky-nude vegan leather pants and today I want to share with you how-to-style neutral vegan leather pants.

My challenge for you? Try something different to change up your pants! Your only options aren’t just black trousers and jeans.

Abercrombie Women’s Vegan Leather 90’s Straight Pants

Growing up I always have loved clothes. In fact, before blogs and e-blast newsletters were a thing your girl wrote “zines” on AOL Teen as a tween back in the late ’90s. I also started college by applying [and getting accepted into…toot toot!] the J-School with a career plan of a fashion journalist. I changed my major to Advertising and PR, but never lost my love of writing about fashion. I started this blog is March of 2014 [shoot, even my blog is getting old…] and when I started my career in social media marketing I felt like I’d realized a life-long dream of being able to wear the ultimate fashion duo: Blazer and jeans. Snappy casual.

But now? I’m in a jean rut. And with most of my interactions being on Zoom, while I look put together on top, my lower half is in jeans 99% of the time. Enter my Abercrombie Women’s Vegan Leather 90’s Straight Pants. They are SO good. I have a pair of black vegan leather pants that I do like, but I am much more of a soft neutrals gal (think cream, gray, white, blush, and tans) so I don’t reach for them as often. I wanted a pair of beige leather pants, similar to my absolute favorite Abercrombie Vegan Leather Mini Puffer [favorite coat I own] but when I saw a pinky-nude it was meant to be.

What I love the most about these is allllll the ways to style them. They look cute with a sweater, they look fantastic with a bodysuit, and they’ll transition into spring with a pretty blouse. They are just shy of $100, but Abercrombie does have fantastic sales, and if you’re a member of “My Abercrombie” their rewards program, you get special sales and reward $. Both Stephan and I love Abercrombie these days, and so our points add up pretty quickly. [Fun fact, we met at Abercrombie maaaany moons ago 😉 ]

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My pants

I am attaching a few “look for less” I found on Amazon with good reviews but please know I have not tried those items!

Do you own any vegan leather pants? Let me know!

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Ugg Tasman Slippers Review + Look For Less [dupe]

January 31, 2022 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

I wear my Ugg Australia slippers 365 days/year (yes, around the house in shorts or a dress in the summer!) and this year I finally got another pair (a great Christmas gift!) but they are a different style. I got the Tasman Ugg slippers after my favorite Ugg slippers were discontinued (I’ve owned 2 pairs of them!) and wanted to share my thoughts.

Tasman Ugg Slippers

At first, I missed my other Ugg Slippers, but after about a week of wear, I’ve come to really love these. They’re very warm, and I am always blown away at how much of a body temperature difference I notice when I take the Ugg Slippers off or put them on. I also think that because of the thick sole, these will endure longer wear than other similar sheepskin slipper boots.

*TIP! I always size down one full size in Ugg because the sheepskin fur fluff will pack down after a bit of wear. I also always treat my Uggs with scotch guard. My slippers are in Chestnut brown.

If you want a look-for-less I haven’t tried these BUT they have incredible reviews and are 1/4 of the Ugg pricetag. Not bad for an Ugg Tasman Dupe!

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Amber Book Light | Evening Routine Game-Changer?

January 17, 2022 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

I have talked [at nauseam some might say] about my morning evening and evening routine, and for Christmas, I got an Amber Book Light that has quickly become an integral part of my evening routine.

Amazon Amber Book Light

This amber reading light is unlike any book light I’ve ever used because it is, well, an amber glow instead of a stark white. My husband, Stephan, got one about a year ago, and while I’d tried it I didn’t realize just how fantastic it was until I had my own. Now instead of using a lap, again with a stark white light, I use my amber book light when reading a few pages before bed and I find that I am sleepier and fall asleep faster when I do turn it off. SO AWESOME!

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Do you use a book light? Do you have an evening routine?

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What I Got For Christmas 2021

January 3, 2022 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

Christmas may be over, but I am still geeking out over what I got for Christmas. Today I will share what I got for Christmas 2021. Be sure to let me know in the comments what you got and, just for fun, whether or not your tree is still up.

What I Got For Christmas 2021

Brumate Coffee Mug

One of my best friends did a “Favorite Things” theme with her gifts for me, and to say that I felt instantly spoiled is an understatement. Thank you, James, if you’re reading this. She got me the marble, and I’m obsessed. It doesn’t leak and I accidentally tested how well it insulates when I left a cup of coffee sitting on the counter and ran errands for several hours. It was still hot when I got back I kid you not.

Stainless Steel Vertical Corkscrew Wine Opener

This was another gift that I wasn’t expecting but when our dear friends gave this to us we were thrilled. We had been using a cheap waiters style corkscrew that worked but definitely wasn’t what you’d want to use with nicer bottles of wine (read I didn’t trust it to work). This is beautiful and works perfectly…don’t worry, I tested it a few times over the week between Christmas and NYE.

Steve Madden Bettyy Black Patent Boot

These boots are so fun! They remind me of a classic Doc Martens. I love the vegan patent leather, and can’t wait to wear them.

Nike Air Force One ’07

I am a runner so whenever I’m spending $100 + on shoes they’re usually for running, but I found myself needing a timeless pair of shoes for certain outfits, and what’s more classic than Nike white on whites? Get me two pair ; )

The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook

It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE Disney fan, and I’ve used recipes several times for my YouTube channel and for my family that I find on Pinterest, but I was thrilled to receive a cookbook that has wonderful storytelling and recipes at my fingertips no printing or propping up my phone required.

The Cheese Board Deck

I love charcuterie, I make it at least once a week, and it is 99.9% of what I ate between Christmas and NYE. I love to make big boards for special occasions and gatherings, but I’ve never used books for inspiration. I love this deck because it serves as a useful tool with inspiration, recipes, accoutrement ideas, and helpful hints, but also works as a coffee table book and decor. This is a fantastic gift because most people don’t buy themselves these things, but they’re wonderful to have. This works as a standalone gift or would be gorgeous with a gift basket or bottle of wine. HIGHLY recommend.

Amber Light Book Light

My husband got an amber book light for Christmas last year and I’ve borrowed it so many times. It is so much nicer than a bright lamp or white light, and it allows me to read a few pages as I get sleepy at night.

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This is not everything I received, I also got an awesome drawing from our youngest which I promptly framed, a few fun odds and ends, a Michigan State crewneck, and of course, chocolate.

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Cute + Affordable Christmas Sweaters

December 20, 2021 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

If you need a cute ugly sweater to wear to a holiday party or, if you’re like me, and just love wearing festive Christmas sweaters during the holiday season, today I want to share several options of affordable Christmas sweaters for her that you can rock while you drink some nog/coffee/champs/insertfavebevvyhere.