Leah Tackles

It’s been a fun run | LeahTackles turns 8

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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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Easy 1-Step Eye Shadow | Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow

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Hi there! Happy Monday!

Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline Color Tattoo. Yes, it’s still 2022. No, you didn’t go back in time to 2014. But I’ve been incredibly minimal with my makeup the past several years, with my eyelids often just getting a sweep on bronzer *OR* my tried-and-true Maybelline Color Tattoo. I’ve heard that they were discontinued but I can easily find them on Amazon and Walmart.com. I think they may have re-launched a new line. Do you have answers? Let me know. But shall we go on?

Maybelline Color Tattoo

Quick Story Time:

I went into very active labor with my youngest at about 11p.m and I had a bit of makeup on, when Logan was born at 6:25 the next morning there was a photo taken with my eyes looking down at him and you can see the eye shadow. It was the color Inked In Pink.

Lately, I’ve been wearing Tough As Taupe and Bad To The Bronze quite a bit, they’re great neutrals.

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Revlon Volcanic Roller | Oil Absorbing Face Roller

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Hi there! Happy Monday!

I’ve been oily since my tweens, and while now I am definitely more combo, I always blot my nose and forehead throughout the day. I kept putting off trying the Revlon Oil-Absorbing Volcanic Face Roller because I honestly usually just grab my power brush and stipple it on my nose and forehead when I get shiny during the day and when I’m on the go I use a tissue or my travel brush (and sometimes when I need a real touch-up I’ll use some pressed powder, too). Not a fancy system, but it works for me. However, I finally caved and today I want to share my thoughts.

REVLON Oil-Absorbing Volcanic Face Roller

Product Claims:

  • LIKE BLOTTING PAPERS, BUT BETTER: This face roller is made of real volcanic stone, which soaks up excess oil instantly. Use it on a clean or finished face—it won’t mess up your makeup
  • MASSAGES AND MATTIFIES FACE: Rolling the stone roller across your skin feels heavenly, like a mini facial massage.
  • EASY TO USE: Gently roll the face roller ball over your T-zone or anywhere skin is shiny.
  • LESS WASTE THAN BLOTTING PAPER: Unlike blotting papers for oily skin that are used once and thrown out, this oil-absorbing roller is reusable. To clean, twist the roller’s ring to unlock, and pull out the stone. Wash with a gentle cleanser, rinse, and air-dry before locking it back in

My Thoughts:

I love that this is less wasteful and it’s so easy to toss into your bag without any of the mess of powders. I don’t think it’s a massage, but it doesn’t feel bad either. I think anyone with oily skin, combo skin, or skin that gets too dewy in the summer needs this! It is SO GOOD!

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Have you tried this? I’d love to hear about it!

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Cuddl Duds Thermal | A Winter Wardrobe Staple

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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

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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

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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]

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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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NYX Thick It. Stick It! Thickening Brow Mascara

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Hi there! Happy Monday!

I have been on the hunt for a brow product that gives me gorgeous, full, fluffy brows and finally have found something that gives me the results I’ve been after.

NYX Thick it. Stick It! Thickening Brow Masacra

I use this by brushing my inner brows up and then using the tip to get the arch defined in the way that I like. I use a plain spooli brush to fluff and get in the position I want without adding more product after applying this. My brows last all day long and it’s fast and easy to use.

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What is your go-to brow product? I’d love to hear it!

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Amber Book Light | Evening Routine Game-Changer?

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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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The BEST Hair Claw Clips | Large Non-Slip Hair Claw Clips Amazon

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Hi there! Happy Monday!

One of my stocking stuffers (thank you, Santa!) was this pack of large hair claw clips and they’re one of my favorite things because they are SO good.

Big Hair Claw Clips

Since middle school, I have loved using big claw clips to twist and clip my hair up and out of my face before applying makeup or at the end of the day when I just want my hair up. I remember my roommate joking in college that I looked like a “Businesswoman” with my hair clipped up (á la Rachel from Friends) when we would be getting ready to go out and I clipped my hair up.

When these clips came back in style a couple of years ago (much to my delight) I actually started wearing these outside of the house sometimes, but still use them daily at home every morning when I do my makeup ( I do makeup first and then hair, which do you do?!) and every day by the early evening I am ready to clip my hair up and I love the feeling of these clips versus a hair elastic or scrunchie.

Oh, Rachel! Iconic, always.

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