Monthly Archives: April 2012

InstaWeek #12

Posted on by
2

Some of CK’s instaweek highlights included: taking our Mom to Umami Burger for the very first time, eating some of Mom’s homemade ceviche, a visit to Irvine’s new Daiso Japanese store (aka Hi-Chew Heaven) and a fun overnight mini-vaca to LA. We finally remembered to get some of CK’s shot into the weekly round-up, now we just need to figure out how to get both of our Instagram feeds on the the blog as well.

The highlights of my week weren’t too crazy as I was a little under the weather for a few days, but when I was out and about the week included: arm parties and swag, Starbucks in Santa Monica and the start of By Invitation Only: How we built Gilt and changed the way millions shop. I can’t wait to get through the rest of the Gilt book and share some of the fun shots we took in Santa Monica yesterday on the blog. Stay tuned for a fun post tomorrow!

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out A Little Dash of Ash’s weekly Instagram round-up. You can follow The Kina’s @bettinakina and @carokina.

Friday’s Fancies Date Night

Posted on by
12

Sequin Alloy “Karen” Dress // Bauble Bar Ring // Deborah Lippmann Forget You Polish // DVF Clutch // Aldo Nude Pumps

TGIF means it’s time for a good old Date Night. Whether it’s a date with friends, your man, your puppy or the DVR, it’s a time to relax and have a good old time. When putting together my Date Night outfit for this week’s Friday’s Fancies I decided to go all out and mix in some classic glitz and glamour. I drew some sequin inspiration from this sequin dress and top from Pinterest, and threw in some nude heels to keep it classy. Hope you all have a happy Friday and super duper weekend! xoxo- Bettina

My Favorite Big Sexy Hair Products

Posted on by
2

Big Sexy Hair. CK is lucky, she’s got some natural volume and texture in her hair, but mine on the other hand is pretty flat, so I’ve got to work for some big hair. It’s fair to say that for pretty much all my life I’ve been searching for beauty products that will take my hair to the next level. I’m happy to report that after 27 years of searching, I’ve finally found a good mix of products that not only add the volume I’m looking for, but they also keep my hair from getting too oily. Oily hair is a whole another store, but I can say the combination of all of these together allows me to keep a styled look in for about 72 hours, which if you knew me and my hair 3 years ago was not possible. So without further ado, here are my (BK’s) favorite hair products!

Prep & Dry

After I’m done showering I will spray the Bumble and Bumble Styling Lotion all over my hair  and head. Once I’ve sprayed on a good coat, I’ll go back in with a wide tooth comb and make sure it’s evenly dispersed.

Next I’ll take squeeze a dime sized amount of the Bumble and Bumble Texture Cream onto the palm of my hand. To make sure it is applied evenly, I rub my hands together for a few seconds and then I begin running my fingers throughout my hair. You really really want to make sure disperse this product evenly, otherwise when you blow dry your hair it will get clumpy and yucky. Once you’ve worked the product into your hair you can either air dry your hair or flip your head upside down and work the blow dryer.

Add Some Waves

To add some volume I use 3/4 inch Hot Tools Curling Iron to add some waves. Instead of running the hair through the clamp, I use my fingers to wrap sections of my hair around the entire iron in a vertical fashion. After I’m done waving out my whole head, I spray the Fredrik Fekkai Summer Hair spray all over the waves and use my fingers to separate and lossen up the curls.

Texturize and Set

Once the waves have been created, I go back in and add some more texture and volume with the Garnier Fructis Surf Hair Texture Paste. This paste isn’t as thick as the Bumble and Bumble Texture Cream, so go ahead and be more liberal in this application. I usually rub the paste together in my palms and scrunch my hair up as I apply it to give the hair texture and volume.

To finish of the look, I’ll flip my head over and spray some Kenra hair spray all over my hair and give it a good scrunch. Then I’ll go back in with a texturizing brush/comb and backcomb at the crown of my head and also tease the entire head of hair to give volume not only at the top, but at the sides and bottom as well. Follow these steps loosely and I guarantee you’ll end up with some Big Sexy Hair!

An Afternoon on Abbot Kinney

Posted on by
3

BK’s Look: F21 Poncho & Blouse // Old Navy Skinny Jeans // Yellow Fluro Cambridge Satchel Company // Steve Madden Pembrook Booties in Cognac 

CK’s Outfit: F21 Chambray Top // Free People Flower Crop Top // Levi’s Army Green Cargos // Urban Outfitter Sandals (old) // Michael Kors Rose Gold Watch 

On Sunday afternoon CK and I made a trip up to Venice and strolled along Abbot Kinney. We were super stoked to find this fantastic wall and couldn’t resist snapping a few outfit photos. It’s always so fun to make the drive up to LA and spend the whole day exploring. We’re heading back up to Venice on Sunday for another round, does anyone have any spots they recommend we hit up? xoxo – Bettina

InstaWeek Number 10

Posted on by
2

Yummy food snaps from the week. Finally tried Umami Burger with Sara B./ Had another good Chipotle meal/ Made some BBQ at home for the BF and I

Sister Time. CK and I spent Sunday afternoon exploring Abbot Kinney. We stopped by Intelligentsia and the coffee was amazing!

As usual we’re linking up with A Little Dash of Ash. Follow us @bettinakina and @carokina. We took some fun outfit photos on our little day trip adventure, we’ll post these up tomorrow. Stay Tuned. Xoxo-Bettina

Friday’s Fancies – Primped for a Picnic

Posted on by
2

Happy Friday Everyone! This week’s Friday’s Fancies theme of a Primped Picnic couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. The weather in So. CA is supposed to be warm and beautiful this weekend, which will mean tons of outdoor time! I’d love to catch some rays at a picnic wearing a classic Breton striped top, crisp black shorts, Sperry top siders and an arm full of baubles. Of course I’d make sure to hang out in the shade to avoid any type of farmers tan.

Hope the weather is lovely for you all as well! xoxo-Bettina

The Daily Makeup Routine

Posted on by
Reply

Makeup posts are one of my favorite posts to read, so I thought why not continue to spread the love and share daily my makeup routine. Today’s post focuses on daytime makeup, but we have reserved another post for CK’s makeup routine and nighttime makeup faves.

Every day I start off by using Philosophy’s Purity face wash to give combination oily/dry skin a fresh start. All of the products in this post have worked well with my skin, and have been in the mix for a few months now.

Prep

Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base: I love using this face base after I’ve washed my face. The cream has a pretty thick consistency, but it absorbs beautifully into the skin. The smell is lovely, and my face never feels greasy from it.

Face

Bobbi Brown Extra Repair Foundation: Love the coverage of this foundation. It is a tad bid thick at the beginning of application, but I use a kabuki brush to buff the product into my skin. The foundation lasts all day and I don’t find myself getting very oily in my t-zone.

Mac Strobe Liquid: I absolutely love mixing this in with my foundation. The strobe liquid gives your skin a bit of sheen and creates a dewy look. You could use this to highlight certain areas of your face, but I love using this all over my face.

Mac Mineralize Skin Finish: I use the Soft and Gentle shade to highlight and find the powder provides the perfect luminous look. If I’m going out on the town, I make sure to pack on a bit more and my face always ends up glowing in photos.

Nars Bronzer: The Laguna Nars bronzer is my absolute fave for everyday use. I love that it has a tiny bit of shimmer, but is matte enough for me to use for some contouring. Unfortunately, my face was not blessed with a chiseled structure, so I pop some this bronzer into the hallows of my face to create cheekbones.

Nars Blush: After CK introduced me to the Orgasm Nars blush, it became my daily go to blush. It’s the perfect amount of pink for your cheeks on a daily basis. Everyone always raves about this blush, and I’ve found that the hype around this color is well deserved.

Eyes

Mac Painterly Paint Pot: The Painterly paint pot does a great job of prepping your lids for eyeshadow application. I find that using the paint pot prior to application gives the eyeshadow something to stick to and evens out the skin tone of my eyelids. You can use it alone and pop some eyeliner over it to create a very natural look.

Urban Decay Naked Eye Palette: Love, love, love this eye shadow palette. There are so many colors you can mix and match to create the perfect a minimal or smoky day eye look. I’ve been using this palette for well over a year now, and the only time I stray from it is when I’m looking for a brighter purple or green night-time look.

Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume Mascara: You really get your bang for your buck with this mascara. When applying, I like to put at least 3 coats of this mascara on to create the look of fuller lashes.

Lips

Maybelline Baby Lips: Baby Lips moisturizing balm is great in any and every color. The tint is subtle and the product goes on smoothly and keeps your lips moisturized for hours and hours. I always apply a layer of this after my make-up is said and done, and depending on where I’m going I will sometimes pop some gloss over to create a more polished look.

Hope you enjoyed my faves! Stay tuned for a later post on CK’s favorites. Xoxo-Bettina

Spring Chic

Posted on by
2

Splendid Maxi Dress // Dolce Vita Wedges // Old Navy Denim Vest // Zara Shopper Tote // Kelly Wearstler Cuff // YSL Sunnies

Warm temperatures this week means it’s time for Spring chic, and for me that means a sleek black maxi, some high wedges and a denim vest. What do you heart wearing during a warm Spring spell?

InstaWeek #10

Posted on by
1

Pretty view of the lake // The BF sunbathing  // Stopping to enjoy the views

We took a quick spontaneous trip up to Lake Tahoe with a few friends this past weekend to take advantage of Heavenly’s closing weekend! On that note, I’m a tad behind on my posts, since I normally put them together over the weekend. So I’ll keep it short and sweet with a few photos from this weekend’s adventures.

As usual, we’re linking up with A Little Dash of Ash and Story of My Life for some Instagram loving. If you aren’t already following us, you can follow us @bettinakina and @carokina.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! xoxo- Bettina

Friday’s Fancies Pink Pastel

Posted on by
9

Elizabeth & James Blouse + Chloe Shorts + The “Bettina” Rebecca Minkoff Sandal + Celine Luggage Bag Tote + Ray-Ban Sunglasses

I’m linking up again with Long Distance Loving’s Friday’s Fancies and this week’s theme is all about being Pastel Pretty. I’ve been been admiring this pretty pink pastel pink outfit on my Pinterest “Soft Lights” board for quite some time now, so I was excited to put together this look. For this look, I decided to include some dream items from Celine, Chloe and Elizabeth and James. As for the Ray-Ban’s and Bettina sandals, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be getting these soon fo’ sho’!

Hope you all have an amazing weekend filled with lots of peace, love & style! xoxo-Bettina

Street Style Inspiration via Bonaelamour.com