My Top Products for 2017

Hello Loves, 

It's officially 2018 and I have jumped into it with both my hands and my feet. I have been seriously on my grind. I have been shooting blog posts, daily vlogging, filming for my lifestyle channel (soon to launch), planning lots and lots of content and putting the final pieces to launch my online magazine for AmourChic.com. 

All the pieces of my puzzle are finally coming together and I am sooo over the moon!!! Can't wait to take you on the ride with me. It's going to be an adventure. 

I wanted to make my first Lifestyle Blog Post about a list of products I completely fell in love with in 2017 and plan to take into 2018. I will provide links to everything I can. 

Product #1

I completely fell in love with Product #1 in trying to find a new face cream. As I have hit my 40's, my skin goes through several changes per season. I started using this product in the summer but quickly realized that my skin likes it better in the fall and winter. My skin is in constant need of hydration lately, partly due to the heat in my home, so I am focused really heavy on that. One of my recent additions to my skincare, is the Olay Luminous Miracle Boost Concentrate. I put this on under one of my daily moisterizer and my skin loves it instantly. 

Click here to learn more about this line of products. 

Product #2

One of the most important things in your life will be your home. After a hard days work (because I am a working entrepreneur), I come home daily and light the candles in my home. If you follow my daily vlogs, then you know that I am getting ready to redo my home. I am excited and scared at the same time. Candles give me piece of mind and they make my home smell amazing all the time. I always get one of two compliments when someone comes into my home. 1- My house smells like good food. 2- My house smells amazing. 

These candles were my December find. ( I put them in my Holiday Candles 2017 Video) They are sold out, but they were my absolute favorite from Bath & Body Works. Keep an eye out for these, they are amazing. 

Product #3

This is my favorite body scrub again from Bath & Body Works. I promise, this is not an ad. There are only two things I buy from there, candles and body scrub. I feel like you get more bang for your buck with their scrubs. Warm Vanilla Sugar. You should exfoliate at least once a week. 

Click Here to see the new formula.

Product #4

This Revlon Matte Lip Gloss is one of my everyday favorites. It goes on light enough for day and just a little subtle lip color for night. I think that girls are over doing it with this daily makeup trend happening. So much so, that when they take it off, they look discolored and ghostly. I don't like to wear strong makeup during the day unless I am shooting. This Revlon Matte Ultra is my everyday goto.  

Product #5

This year, I decided to really have a go at it with my cooking on my lifestyle youtube channel. I picked up this cookbook over the holidays and when I say I was hooked from first glance, that's what I mean. The recipes are endless. The ideas that come from it are endless. I have never been more excited about baking in my life. I honestly cannot wait to share with you guys over on the channel. 

Product #6

Ladies, when I say this book is powerful, it is powerful. When I read the first story I was like oh this is a book of old stories, but as I got a chance to dive deeper in it, I realized that its okay for life to happen. It is happening to everyone around us and we have to embrace it and get centered in our Faith. It's that simple. This book is an absolute must read. 

The second product is my NARS Lip pencil. Let me say this, for my 5-minute or 10-minute makeup routine, this is my favorite red all over pencil. 

Product #7

What can I say about this fragrance? It is pure heaven in a bottle. It smells amazing. I have worn it everyday for 3 straight weeks. People ask my daily what I am wearing. Yves Saint Laurent, you have done it again with a fragrance. 

Product #8

My last and final product for this post is a product I was a little skeptical about until I tried it. I will say that without a shadow of a doubt, I am not one to jump on a celebrity distributing a new line of products, especially makeup. However, if you haven't figured it out, I am a sucker for a red lip. So I tried and fell in love with this product almost immediately. 

The one thing that still gets me is that it goes on a little toooo wet for me, otherwise I love how long it last. 

Click Here to check it out for yourself. 

I will be putting a video with my full list of products over on my lifestyle channel this week. Stay tuned for a link. 

xoxo LOVE

Palm Trees and Florida Days

Hey Loves, 

Let me start this blog post by saying that I am sorry but I needed to take a hiatus from blogging for a few weeks. So now that August (my birthday month) is fast approaching its time to get into the swing of things. 

This is one of my favorite looks from our Florida trip. Every year we spend a week in Weston, Fl. It is near my favorite mall Sawgrass Mills and the neighborhoods are divine. It’s a great place to get inspiration for lifestyle living especially if you have a green thumb. 

Every year I spend hours going through neighborhoods I haven’t explored. If only I could get a glimpse of the inside as well. I imagine they are full of big furniture, colorful pictures and neutral paints. I love the circular driveways that are played out in impeccable stones. 

Summer brings out the best of my Martha Stewart side. I want to find new recipes. I want to do something different to my home, and I want to be outside even more. What’s new about me this year is that I don’t care about air conditioning. I want to just be outside even if its pouring raining out. This LIVING in my 40’s is working out to be sooooo good! I find myself growing and emerging everyday. In my 20’s I was all over the place and visiting Florida like a party girl with my girls. It was great and very expensive. In my 30’s I grew up a little and put some cash into staying at trendy boutique hotels. 

My kids love Florida. They love the food, the water, the scenery, the weather and most of all the relaxation. 

Outfit Details: Dress OlD Navy | Wedges Marni (Similar) | Bag Aldo (Similar) |

Until Next Time My Loves...

XOXO Love

Weekend Travel Style

Hey Loves, 

The weekend is upon us and who else is as excited as I am? What I would love my summer weekends to look like would be jetting off to my weekend summer home near the water and just living and breathing in fresh air. What it really consists of , is work and more work and then a little play. 

I like sooooo many other women have mommy duties and lots of chores. But, I love a good weekend.

For every weekend getaway  for me, I need an everyday weekend bag. One that carries my book, my laptop, my phone accessories and even my camera. I have mastered the art of weekending with one bag, now if only I could get my kids to do the same thing....

I want them to get into the vibe of leaving all the gadgets behind and breathing in the fresh air. Learn how to unplug. I literally only use my laptop for a minimum of 4 hours over the weekend unless I have something lingering to do for a client. 

My weekend style as you can see will consist of a flowey dress, a easy shoe and of course denim jacket with my favorite sunnies. Nights get cold and sunnies block lots of things!!!

Enjoy your weekend loves. 

Outfit Deets:  Jacket: Nordstrom | Dress: Tobi Apparel | Shoes: Calvin Klein | Bag: AmourChic | 

Until Next Time.....

xoxo Love

The Anxiety of Influence

It’s 2017!! We are all well aware of that single fact. But the bigger question is, what does it mean to be you in 2017? 

I once was asked, “If you left this world today, what legacy would you leave?”

The one question has stuck to me for the last 10 years. 

What would I want to leave? What will be my legacy?

If you follow me on IG (which you should) you will know that I am laser focused on encouraging and pushing you to start and live life on your own terms. To much emphasis is placed on how it looks, how it will turn out, its too late, etc etc etc…

After almost being pushed off a complete ledge, I was you. I am a 42 year old Lifestyle, Business and Fashion Blogger. I started at 41. It can’t get any later than that. I have two children, a home a FT job (insert 365 day countdown) and a mortgage. What I don’t have is disposable income to spend on all the things I want to blog about in life. 

I have been a business owner since I was 24. In order for me to bring myself and my business into the digital age, I had to put all of me out there. 

I put my big girl pants on. I went to the Gym. And, I turned on my camera. In that order. 

I want you to do the same thing (in your own order of course) with your life. If there is something that you want to do in this lifetime that is more than what you are currently living and offering. Do it now. There is someone (more than a few) out there who is waiting for you to influence them. I promise. 

I am a Baltimore Blogger, a Black Baltimore Blogger. I get all kinds of weird stares when I am shooting. It’s not a norm here. So when you see me stopping traffic in the middle of the street to get that perfect shot, wave, blow me a kiss and say Hello. I am completely comfortable with it now. It took a long time, but I am here. And so are you!!!

You don’t have to do anything for the purpose of influence if you don’t want. But influence comes with the social territory. Someone will see the content you put out there. They will click on the link, screenshot for browsing later, send the link to a friend. It’s really just that common. 

A quote changes people perception for the day!

An image reminds people of what they can accomplish. 

A video reminds people to enjoy life. 

The bottom line is, it’s all on you to put it out there and leave your legacy. 

Outfit Deets...

Duster : H&M | Shirt Dress: Rag & Bone | Booties: Steve Madden | 

Lost In My Own Thoughts!!

The big issue was that this was all in my head. I was literally all in my own head. The devil was all in my head. The bottom line was that I didn't feel like shooting. I hadn't put enough effort into my looks. They were very basic and uninspiring and it was freezing cold outside. 

Bloggers have days like this. It's the nature of the job. The greatest thing to remember in your lifestyle approaches is that you can always alter and redo most of it. 

That is exactly what I plan  to do!! 

My Look: Long Bomber: AmourChic | Pants: Banana Republic (same pant, diff color) | Bag & Shoes: Aldo , Gold Booties| 

Be The First Domino

Hey Girl Hey, 

I am soooooo happy about writing this post and sharing a great experience with you guys. Over the past few days I went across the country to hang out with my BFF’s, hung out with old classmates from high school for our 25th reunion and did a little business along the way. 

Wow, what a week is my overall feeling!!

One of the biggest components of the trip for me was our stay the beautiful Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. OMGEEE! Talk about being a first. 

There are several things I usually take into consideration whenever I venture to Las Vegas. I always want to maximize my dollars. Vegas is one of those places where you can find ay and everything you can envision and imagine. And then, Vegas is one of those places where in a week you can spend $1000 on food without even thinking. 

But this trip was different. I had to put on my big girls pants and drop some coin on our stay, and boy was it worth it. 

I am a creative. I am an innovator. I like to be the first in line to bring into your reality. That was one of the main purposes for me starting my Online Retail Brand AmourChic. It was created to be a fashion companion to your Lifestyle. 

In order for me to do this, I need to be in a creative space. Most importantly in an open environment. On this trip, I got exactly what I asked for. Every turn was thoughtfully planned out and decorated. The color schemes told a different story in every section. The restaurants were as individualistic yet appeasing to every hunger craving imaginative. 

I absolutely found myself in Heaven. In getting lost, trying to find the Fitness Emporium, I discovered the pool area. At a quick glance it just looks like a seemingly medium backyard oasiswith a pool, jacuzzi and a lounge area. But, when you step outside and walk into the space, it is as if someone saw the need to bring a little Miami to Las Vegas. 

At this point, my creative persona went into complete overload. How can I bring it better? How can I be the first to do it? How can I be the first domino in the process? How? How? How? My mind was everywhere. I had to sit and record memos in my phone. I took video on my camera. I took pictures of any and everything. 

This was actually a piece on my vision board that came to life. 

Girls, Ladies, Gentleman & everyone who may read this post. 

Be the first Domino in your world. Do it today. Don’t wait for the perfect or even agreeable setting. 

Restaurant Radar | Two| A Point in Fells

Hello Loves, 

I am back again with another post about food (my favorite thing in life)!!! 

Literally, 

I turned the corner and this little place appeared. It instantly made me feel like I had stumbled upon a quiet southern towns' main street. If it wasn't 30degrees outside I definitely would have eaten outside. I love to people and place watch. 

Side Note:

One of the hidden treasures about this place is that it specializes in Jameson induced products. Literally there is a Jameson club and almost all of the drinks include Jameson as well. 

And just in case you didn't know about the upcoming events, you are sweetly reminded of them in the bathroom stall. I had to giggle to myself just because I made it a point to actually read the events before I realized that we were already in February, as I made my way to a window seat. 

My meal was just a perfect little addition to my day. I always try something new for these Blog Posts. These fried donuts with apple and caramel sauce was the perfect appetizer. In the past, I have always been a little scared to try different tastes but now it is full on. 

Secondly I ordered a Lobster and Brie Cheese grilled sandwich. Now, I can tell you that I have not had a grilled cheese sandwich in about five years. I have never had a lobster and cheese sandwich I was super excited at the notion of trying it. 

My drink was a house special and worth it. It was some version of the House Lemonade with a special touch. (I really can't remember the name of it)

XOXO 

Love

My January Scent of The Month

Hello My Loves,

This month I wanted to share with you my newest fav scent, The Miss Dior Eau de Toilette. Usually in the winter I choose a heavy/stronger scent. It seems for last couple of months, my choices have been all over the place. However, when I came across this scent again recently, it struck me. It had a great essence to it and it made me feel girly and sexy. (a winning combination in my book)

Scent Notes:

Italian Mandarin Essence, Egyptian Jasmine Absolute, Indonesian Patchouli Essence

I know this isn't a new scent but it is definitely one of my recommended ones for your Parfume Boudior. Don't let this one get away for 2017!!

Get Yours Here!!!