VIVALUXURY x GOLD PHILOSOPHY

The first time I came across Gold Philosophy jewels was probably a little less than 2 years ago. It was late at night, and I was indulging in a bit of on-line shopping, otherwise known as retail therapy, after a very long and exhausting day. On that particular occasion, and though it's been a while I remember it quite vividly, I was on a quest to find a beautiful pair of pearl earrings I spotted in a magazine add somewhere. After searching for a while, I finally came across Gold Philosophy web page and there they were, starring right at me, even more beautiful and delicate than I remembered! As I started to browse the rest of the website, I kept finding more and more pieces I absolutely loved!

I think one of the main reasons why Gold Philosophy jewelry made such a striking impression on me is because I felt a deep connection to their modern meets edgy, and chic meets classic esthetic. You see, I've always felt that there is a certain duality when comes to my personal style. On one hand, I adore very elegant and feminine prices, yet I am equality attracted to bolder and slightly edgier silhouettes. Naturally, the idea of combining classically beautiful pearls with modern and innovative settings really resonated with me! 

Today, I am exciting to announce that I am partnering with Gold Philosophy to curate a 10-piece collection featuring a few of my current favorites! Designed to be worn on their own or layered, I love how each  and every piece complements each other and just how bold and striking they are! Another reason why I love this collection is versatility! I know, I talk about it a lot, but when it comes to jewelry, I really appreciate pieces I can dress up or down and wear for day and night and these stunners look equality good with jeans and cocktails dresses! So I hope you enjoy! 

VivaLuxury x Gold Philosophy Delphine Collar, Brier Pearl Collar, Charlotte Bangle, Delphine Ear Cuff, Trilliant Earrings, Clara Ear Crawlers, Brier Crawler Ring, Pavé Caged Pearl Ring, Trilliant Double Ring & Delphine Pearl Cluster Double Ring | MISHA COLLECTION Genevra jacket | J BRAND jeans 

MY MORNING SKIN-CARE ROUTINE

When it comes to skincare, the two words I pretty much live by is maintenance and prevention. It's easier to take preamptive measures than try and a problem once it occurs, don't you think? I certainly have my share of regrets when it comes to taking care of my skin. I wish I started using SPF products earlier, I wish I ate a little better and drank more water in college, I wish I remembered to take my make up off every night, if I did, I would've had to deal with sun spots on my nose, enlarged pores and blackheads later. But of course there is really no point of harboring regrets. The best you can do is learn your lessons and try and do better in the future.

One of the most important lessons I've learned is that maintaining healthy skin and preventing future damage is really a combination of a few key elements. First and foremost it's proper diet, drinking plenty of water and being active! I know, I know, we hear about the importance of proper diet, exercise and hydration all the time! But, I can tell you from personal experience, when I eat well, and by well I mean eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, my skin looks a lot better! Secondly, it's really important to use the right beauty products on regular basis! Basically, morning and night, no exceptions!:) In the past, I've talked to you about my morning skin-care routine. But I've introduced a new product to my morning beauty ritual recently and wanted to talk to you a little about it.

Because I love to be outdoors so much, I have to be really diligent about using SPF products. But as good as I was about using SPF products when I planned to stay outdoors for a while, I never really realized that even a few minutes of sun-exposure or indirect sun exposure can do some serious damage! Take my morning coffee run for example, my morning doesn't start until I have a cup of coffee! Rather than making a cup at home, prefer to walk to a cute little coffee shop right around the corner from where I live. In the past, I've made a mistake of thinking I don't have to wear SPF because it's such a short walk! Well, an unprotected few minutes here and there can add up to a ton of sun exposure over time – lesson learned thanks to a few new sun spots on my nose!

Now, SPF is basically one of the most important aspects of my morning skin-care routine! The product I've started using recently is OLAY Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream with SPF 30. What I like about this one in particular is that aside from offering a really high level of sun protection, this lightweight moisturizer helps to hydrate and soften my skin and also helps to prevent any future damage like fine lines and wrinkles for example. Normally, I apply it to a freshly cleansed face just before I put my foundation on and reapply every two hours or so! The trick to reapplying without messing up your make up is by going with liquid foundation ( since powders tend to cake ) and simply layering it over foundation, spot correcting with a bit of concealer or BB cream!

MINI MINT

Good morning and happy Sunday, everyone! Just wanted to say a quick hello and share a few images of one of my favorite dresses at the moment! Love absolutely everything about it, from very subtle mint color, to bell cuffs, square neckline and casual silhouette! Fact that it's made from easy, breezy eyelet, doesn't hurt either!:)

MINISTRY OF STYLE Hunter dress | MARC FISHER Fawn gladiator block heel sandals | MARK CROSS Grace rattan and textured leather shoulder bag | BAUBLE BAR Pavé alpha cuff & white stud bracelet trio { also love this tassel cuff } | RACHEL ZOE set of 5 rings | REBECCA MINKOFF double ring 

MY JEWELRY STACKS: DAY VS NIGHT

Since I'm a huge jewelry addict, a look feels incomplete to me unless I add a bit of sparkle. Well, a lot of sparkle actually, because layering and stacking is what it's all about! The more, the merrier - that's what I always say! I wear a lot of jewelry with all my looks, but the way I combine pieces differs depending on my outfit and occasion.  And so today, I've partnered with PANDORA Jewelry, one of my favorite jewelry brands, to talk to you a little bit about how I stack jewelry for three types of looks: dressy, business and casual.

For dressy looks, I tend to stick to a particular color combo and theme. Because this little white dress had a decidedly romantic look and feel, I opted to go with a very soft, romantic combination of hearts and bows in sterling silver and PANDORA Rose™. Since I have multiple piercings, I am obsessed with wearing different earrings in the same ear. Today, I decided to go with cute bow and heart-shaped studs from the PANDORA Rose™ collection. I also love stacking multiple rings on the same finger. To continue with the theme, I layered a few different PANDORA Rose™ and sterling silver rings, making sure to mix different designs, colors, and shapes to create a very rich effect! 

My go-to day-at-the-office ring stack tends to be simpler, but also a bit edgier. Recently, I've become obsessed with stacking PANDORA pavé style bands, playing with different colors, widths, and sizes. At the moment, I am completely in love with knuckle rings! Aside from the fact that they add a certain measure of edge to your stack, adding knuckle rings is probably one of the easiest ways to layer rings. To get the look, all you have to do is get a ring style you like a few sizes smaller than you normally wear, and voilà! Now any ring you like can be worn as a knuckle ring!

It's funny, but I actually tend to wear the most jewelry with my casual looks. I think it has to do with the fact that I prefer uber casual pieces, like denim cutoffs and simple, everyday blouses, and adding lots of jewels tends to be the easiest way to dress these looks up a bit. I am also a little less conscious about sticking to a particular color palette or theme. Instead, I like mixing quite a few different metals, shapes, sizes, and colors. I combined rings in 14K gold, PANDORA Rose™ and sterling silver, mixing hearts, bows, and pavé style bands, finishing the look with two different heart-shaped studs! 

What about you guys? How do you like to stack your rings and earrings?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PANDORA Jewelry and ShopStyle. All opinions and text are my own.

PANDORA Sparkling Love Knot ring, Radiant Elegance ring, 14K Gold Hearts of PANDORA ring, Inspiration Within ring, Sterling Silver Hearts of PANDORA ring, Petite Luminous Leaves ring, Captured Heart ring, Sparkling Bow ring, Crossing Paths ring, Entwined ring, My One True Love ring, Heart to Heart earrings, Sparkling Bow earrings, Be My Valentine earrings | IRO Calix dress | VALENTINO Patent leather Tango pumps { in nude here & in gray here } | Clutch - old { similar option here } | MARISSA WEBB Fulton dress { also love this one } | STUART WEITZMAN oxfords { similar here } | CHANEL Boy bag | ONE TEASPOON denim shorts | MISA blouse { similar here } | RAYE Drew sandals | CHLOE Inez bag 

OFF THE SHOULDER DRESS: DAY VS NIGHT

When it comes to travel, to say that Emil and I are spontaneous, is to say nothing at all! It's not that we dislike making plans in general, but with our schedule being as unpredictable as it is, it's hard to anticipate what tomorrow will bring, let alone plan something weeks in advance. So in our house, the trip planning process sounds a lot like this: "Hey babe, how would you feel about going to Santa Barbara tomorrow?" Well, babe feel really good about going to Santa Barbara on any day, which is what I would say right before I start frantically packing, trying to fit way too many shoes in what seems to be a tiny little carryall!

I'll be the first to admit that my packing for the weekend getaway game was not strong! I think that one of the biggest mistakes I've made in the past is bringing way more than I actually need ( 5 pairs of shoes for one weekend is going a little overboard, don't you think? ) and also not thinking enough about what we'll be doing ( like going our for dinner, biking, hiking or simply exploring ) so that I could pack appropriate outfits for every occasion. 

But I must say that I've become much more of an efficient packer lately, and the answer was so simple, I honestly can't believe I didn't think of it before! Rather than bringing different pieces for every occasion, now, I opt to wear things I can restyle for day or night. Take last weekend for example, a few of our friends were heading to Santa Barbara and we decided to come along! Knowing full well, we'll be walking around, hitting the beach and dining out, I packed a cute off-the-shoulder denim number from Express, which I paired with cute flats, floppy hat and a cross body for day and dressed up for a girl's night out with some tasseled heels and a structured box bag. Since short and form-fitting is what I prefer for night-time outfits, I added a rope belt to give this outfit a more body-cosncious shape! Finishing touch, a few beaded bracelets which I wore for day and night! For day, I opted to wear bracelets on both arms, going for that cute, casual look, but for night, I really wanted to make them more of a statement pieces, so I simply layered them on one arm for a really rich, dramatic effect!

EXPRESS Denim off the shoulder trapeze dress, Straw floppy hat, Set of four mixed beaded bracelets, Double wrap rhinestone bracelet, Ombre tortoise shell cat-eye sunglasses & oversized round triple frame sunglasses | MARK CROSS Grace rattan and textured leather shoulder bag | CHLOÉ Inez bag | ALVARO GONZALEZ Anna pom pom sandals | TORY BURCH Tassel sandals { similar here }