Category: Fashion

My Style: July 2025

UGH, it’s been so hot and humid here in Maryland. I only went into the office one day this month and the rest have been spent working in my home office. With that being said, I did have a variety of fun plans, including a 4th of July party, girl’s day out with my friend, a double-date for dinner, a niece birthday party at a splash pad, and various errands. So, let’s take a look at what I wore this month….

Office Style

As I said, I went into the office once, so it was the perfect opportunity to wear a new-to-me thrifted vintage skirt. I love this skirt SO MUCH with the fitted waist and roomy skirt. It’s a thick cotton blend, which holds its shape without wrinkling and has some super deep pockets. I’m already planning to style a witchy look for the fall with black tights and black heeled booties.

As for the rest of the outfit, I went with a gingham linen cropped blouse (Poshmark), cardigan (thrifted) and some sweet and comfortable Rothy’s Mary Janes (Poshmark).

Weekend Style

All the Stripes: First up, I have my 4th of July outfit, which is red, white and blue adjacent with coral stripes and a teal skirt. I love this combo and everything in this outfit is secondhand, including the silver Birkenstock sandals. For the second outfit, this was for running some errands and I paired a black stripped tee-shirt with my marigold linen skirt for an easy and comfy look.

Also, now that we have an extra dog it is quite hard to take outfit photos without at least one photo bomber…

Cropped by Me: All three of these tops have met my scissors. The blue top previously lived life as a caftan/dress and I thought it might get more wear as a flowy top. I was absolutely right and I have been wearing this once a week since I made the big chop.

My husband thrifted the Guns N’ Roses top and it ended up being too small for him, so I chopped the bottom and it is one of my favorite throw-on-and-wear tee’s right now. In fact, it spurred on a whole viral-ish situation over on Threads, since my son seems to think I look mean and intimidating when I wear it.

As for the green top, I thrifted it on one of our trips (I think Tuscan?) and it was always very oversized. I took in a few inches on the sides and cropped the length and now I love it so much more.

Out and About: The Popflex by Blogilates running dress was the perfect choice for a 2 year old’s splash pad party, especially because it was soo hot and humid outside. Ironically, my sisters all loved this dress and one said that she ‘wished she could pull it off’, which I find hilarious since she’s much more fit than me (and 13 years younger). So, here’s a reminder for you all… you CAN pull anything you want off. You just put the clothing on your body, wear it, and give no thought to what other people think.

The middle look included my FAVORITE thrifted skirt for a day around town (and the consignment shops) with my friend. And then last look was what I wore for a double-date at a delicious Mexican restaurant.

One last outfit… yesterday morning I had the opportunity to meet BK Borison at the grand opening of our local Barnes & Noble. If you follow along with my Book Lists and mini reviews (you can find them on the right sidebar), you’ll know I love everything she writes, so this was pretty awesome!

New vs Secondhand Tally

This month, I count 8 items that I purchased retail and 14 items I purchased secondhand!

3 Necklaces, Endless Options: My Gem Miners Show Creations

Last month we went to the Gem Miners Show when it came to a local fairground. I was like a kid in a sparkly candy store and picked out a few strands of beads and some pendants… with no specific plan.

I just wanted to make something that felt both beautiful and wearable. It’s pretty low risk, since I can just cut them back apart if I don’t end up loving them (or changing my mind in the future). So, here is what I came up with for my first few creations:

Beads: Crazy lace Agate (disks) and Rainbow Jade Burma (circles)

Pendants: Shattuckite (left) and Sunstone Iolite (right), both in sterling silver

A set of three necklaces that can be layered together, mixed and matched, or worn alone. I also added a fun detail – the silver clips. I was inspired by a necklace I purchased in Arizona with a small carabineer looking clip that holds charms. For my necklaces, the silver clip can be worn to the front as part of the design, turned around for a more streamlined look, or you can add on one of the pendants. As an added bonus, I have some little clip-on charms from other necklaces I’ve collected over the years, and they can be clipped on here too when I want to mix it up!

There is something really satisfying about making jewelry with your own hands. I love the way these first few necklaces turned out and I have so many plans for what to do with the rest of the beads…

For Science! Wavy Hair Experiments on My 2A/2B Hair

A few weeks ago, I got caught in a rainstorm while out and about for work. Like a full-on drenched rain goblin. And then I ignored my hair while continuing to do work stuff for a few more hours. And then when I got home and looked in the mirror… my hair looked fantastic.

What the heck with these beachy waves. There was NO effort?! And it turned out like this???

So that reminded me that I’ve gone through phases of wearing my hair wavy over the years and I wondered if I could use the ‘curly hair method’ or ‘wavy hair method’ or just the Reddit rabbit hole to find the perfect product that could recreate this look with little effort.

Before we get into all the science experiments, my typical hair routine is that I shampoo and condition it in the shower. Then, I put it up in a towel to dry a bit while I’m getting ready. Last, I use a wide tooth comb to comb it out. It is typically tangled from being up in a towel. I’ll sometimes stick a little product in there (maybe Potion 9 or Moroccan oil) and then just let it air dry. It dries mostly straight with a little body or waves. I wash it every 2-3 days, which my dry hair likes.

For my wavy hair experiments, I started with trying to figure out what kind of hair I actually have. Now, with the *wonders* of perimenopause… my hair texture HAS been changing. For the past few years, I suddenly have little curls at my temples and a full-on wave pattern at the back of my head. After a deep dive into hair type charts, I landed on a mix of 2A/2B hair, which is wavy, fine and easily weighed down. It’s not quite straight, not full curlicues, something in the middle.

Once I know what I was working with, I did some research, ordered a few options online, and went into full science mode…

Try 1: Mizani Curl Cream and the Bowl Method

Product link: https://amzn.to/4eQHPI7

For this try, I washed and conditioned my hair like normal and then combed it with a wide-tooth comb when I got out of the shower. Then, I did “the bowl method”, where you pat on your product with “praying hands” and then dip your hair into a bowl of water and scrunch it. And dip and scrunch. And dip and scrunch. And then I kind of scrunched the extra water out with a towel and let it air dry without touching it again.

The results were pretty darn close!

Lots of waves. Very similar to my rained on hair.

Try 2: Curlsmith In Shower Fixer

Product link: https://amzn.to/3Gt7x8W

This product got rave reviews on the Wavy Hair Reddit, so I immediately hit ‘add to cart’ and waited with baited breath for it to show up at my house. (Fun fact: I actually saw it at TJ Maxx for way cheaper afterwards). For this experiment, I washed and conditioned my hair in the shower. Combed it out while still in the shower with dripping hair. Then, applied the Curlsmith In Shower Fixer with praying hands and scrunched, scrunched, scrunched. I finished up by scrunching the extra water out with an old tee shirt and letting it air dry without touching it again.

Okay, so first of all my hair dried like Ramen (left photo). I “scrunched the crunch” out but I hated the texture of my hair. It felt super goopy and the waves were more ‘grown out 90’s perm’ for me (middle photo). Also, the next morning it felt absolutely disgusting and I had to immediately wash it out of my hair (right photo).

Try 3: Cake the Curl Whip Mousse in the Shower

Product link: https://amzn.to/44EAOW4

Here is another product that people loved on the Wavy Hair Reddit! I washed and conditioned my hair in the shower. Combed it out while still in the shower with dripping hair. Then, applied the Cake the Curl Whip Mousse with praying hands and scrunched it in. I finished up by scrunching the extra water out with an old tee shirt and letting it air dry without touching it again.

It gave me light waves and felt like no product at all , which I like (left photo). It was nice for a less aggressive wave situation. And the next day hair was really good too, not many waves but really good body and texture without feeling dirty (right photo).

Try 4: Sebastian Potion 9 – The Shower Method AND the Bowl Method

Shower Method:

Product link: https://amzn.to/4622BlQ

I have literally used this product since I was 15 years old. For this experiment, I washed and conditioned my hair in the shower. Combed it out while still in the shower with dripping hair. Then, applied the Potion 9 with praying hands and scrunched it in. I finished up by scrunching the extra water out with an old tee shirt and letting it air dry. When it was dry, I separated the curls a bit by running my hands through my hair. Results: soft waves, no gunky buildup and I can easily run my fingers through my hair. Next day hair still has some waves too.

Since we were doing this For Science, I tried this exact same set up again, but this time I used the bowl method to see if there was any difference.

And they are basically the same. The in shower method is a lot easier and less messy, but gives similar results.

Here’s bowl vs shower method:

Try 5: Mizani Curl Cream and the Shower Method

Product link: https://amzn.to/4eQHPI7

After the Potion 9 gave me similar results for both the bowl and shower method, I decided to revisit the Mizani Curl Cream. This time I washed and conditioned my hair in the shower. Combed it out while still in the shower with dripping hair. Then, applied the Mizani Curl Cream with praying hands and scrunched it in. I finished up by scrunching the extra water out with a towel and letting it air dry.

Comparison:

Hardly any difference and the shower method is easier and less messy!

What I Learned:

So after all my experiments, here is where I ended up…

  • Most Like Rained On Waves: Mizani Curl Cream
  • Less Aggressive Waves: Sebastian Potion 9
  • Few Waves, More for Body: Cake the Curl Whip Mousse
  • Bonus: Water spray bottle to reactivate waves for day 2 and day 3. (I love this one https://amzn.to/40KKAVr and use it on my plants too!)

And that’s my final data for my experiments into wavy hair. Of course, in the last week it’s too hot and sticky to wear my hair down without regretting all my life decisions, so I’ve been doing all the braids. However, next time I want to activate my mermaid hair dreams, I know what to do!

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