Jaclyn Day

I love minimal gold jewelry any time, but it looks especially good in the summer with lots of bare skin and light, flowy clothes.

Panacea Hammered Necklace, $25

This cover-up worked great at the pool this weekend. Super affordable, light and cute (cuter in person than in this pic, which I find to be the case 90% of the time with Target goods).

Target Black Tie Dye Cover-Up, $19.99

Weekend Recap

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First pool day! She splashed the whole time and laughed at Brandon when he squirted water at her feet. Best weekend ever? It’s definitely a contender.

The Big Mascara Round-Up

I love to try new mascaras, but it’s a total crapshoot. Here’s what I think of a few drugstore varieties:

Was not a fan of Maybelline’s Lash Stiletto. The brush looked promising, but I found it didn’t lengthen much at all. And forget volume. Not happening.

I had high hopes for Rimmel’s ScandalEyes too. I’ve had good luck with Rimmel mascaras in the past, but this one is just okay. Adequate volume/lengthening, but not much curl.

The Colossal Volum Express is definitely one of the better Maybelline mascaras to be had. It added volume as promised, but tended to clump too. (Weirdly enough, I also went through a tube of this at about twice the speed I do other mascaras.)

Rimmel’s The Max VolumeFlash is still one of my all-time favs for dramatic lashes. I try new ones often, but keep coming back to this. (The Volume & Lift version of this with the curved brush is also great.)

I know a lot of people are fans of Cover Girl’s LashBlast, but I found it underwhelming. It added length but not volume and the brush seemed to be unreliable—depositing an uneven amount of product.

I’ve written before how I think Maybelline Great Lash is completely overhyped, but I decided to try the curved version. It’s marginally better, but don’t waste your money.

Meh. I like Maybelline’s Define-A-Lash for length, but I usually layer it on after I use another mascara first. It’s not great on it’s own.

What’s your favorite drugstore mascara? Any I should try?

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Cute cover-up.

Freya “Cha Cha” Beach Cover-Up, $73

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Happy almost-Memorial Day!

1. Forever21 Cardigan (Similar from Forever21)
2. H&M Camisole
3. H&M Shorts (Similar from Express)
4. Wedges from ROSS (Similar at Tilly’s)
5. Nine West Crossbody Bag (Similar by Roxy)
6. Forever21 Bangle
7. Forever21 Necklace (Similar from Forever21)

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1. Old Navy Top (Similar from Old Navy)
2. H&M Dress
3. Forever21 Earrings
4. Michael Kors Watch
5. Nine West Sandals
6. Target Satchel (Similar by Kelly & Katie)

P.S. Trying something new with the outfit post formatting. Do you like it better? Worse? There’s some funky blurriness that happens when Tumblr downscales images for multi-photo posts, but it seems to correct itself if you click to open.

I’m not sure how I feel about this swimsuit, but it’s one of the few I’ve seen that you could wear and hide post-baby fupa or stretch marks or a large lunch.

Still not sure I like it, but the idea intrigues me.

(Would also make a potentially good maternity suit? Discuss.)

[Edit: Just thought about how this might look wet. The image in my head is not a good one. Lots of hanging fabric, etc.]

J.Crew Jersey Lomellina Blouson Tank Suit, $118 - Also available in black, green and purple

Cheap thrills

I’ve been a cranky zombie the past three days, and if you have been too, maybe one of these cheap little trinkets will brighten up your Thursday. (At least the sun is shining here in MD today! Thank god!)

Essie Poppy Razzi Collection in Bazooka, $8 - Ships free

JaiJoDesigns Orbit Necklace, $27

Forever 21 Retro Waves Scarf, $8.53

Charlotte Russe Cutout Back Aztec Dress, $24.99

Cesca Rope Handle Tote, $18

Wet Seal Dolce T-Strap Sandal, $9.50 - Also available in teal, yellow and white