DIY SEA SALT SPRAY

With spring and summer fast approaching, I'm always game for simplifying my hair routine. If I can skip a blow dry or curling iron in favor of enjoying the warmer weather, I'm in. An easy way to add texture, curl, and volume to your hair is with a texturing or salt spray. The high-end ones can be pretty pricey, and they are insanely easy to DIY (and cost next to nothing!) with just as good of results. 

RECIPE:
1. One part coconut oil, liquified. Run your glass bottle under hot water for a few minutes to melt it.

2. One part sea salt (I used 1 Tbsp coconut oil, 1 Tbsp salt)

3. Fill the rest of your spray bottle with water, and shake.

Spray on either wet or dry hair, it doesn't matter. Scrunch with your fingers and let air dry. Welcome the curls and heat-free styling! So easy for spring.

FAVORITE TRAVEL BEAUTY ITEMS

I am a notorious over-packer (see this post here) but last week, I packed in a carry-on for our trip to Mexico. A few travel-sized beauty items are what saved me. My top 10 favorites are listed below, including some of my everyday-can't-live-without items. 

1. Tresemme Dry Shampoo - A required product for me. Especially when traveling places where you don't want to bother washing your hair daily.

2. Tresemme Hair Spray - I recently learned how to tease my hair for volume, and it's been a gamer changer for me. 

3. Travel sized toothpaste - A necessity for carry-on luggage.

4. Bobbi Brown Blush - Love this blush in Pale Pink. The brightest pop of color. 

5. Jane Iredale Powder - A great mineral, pressed power. 

6. Illuminare Foundation - My favorite foundation also happens to be travel-sized approved. This mineral foundation has awesome coverage and great staying-power.

7. Bare Minerals Bronzer - I wear it daily for a healthy glow.

8. Julep Eyeshadow Palette - Love the neutral color palate.

9. Johnson's Baby Wash - doubles as a gentle face wash and body wash in a convenient travel size.

10. Garnier Fructis Shampoo and Conditioner - I like to travel with my own conditioner, because the hotel ones never feel like they do the job. This brand is widely available. 

That's all I travel with, beauty product wise! I wear eyelash extensions (in-depth post coming soon) so I don't travel with mascara or an eyelash curler. It's been life changing. Love all these products!

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SPRING CAPSULE WARDROBE UPDATE

With the first official day of spring less than 4 weeks away, I started thinking about my spring capsule wardrobe. And I realized, though the weather is slightly warmer here, it's not a drastic enough change to warrant anything different from what I'm currently wearing in my winter wardrobe, which also happens to look a lot like my fall wardrobe.

Seattle is unique in that we essentially have two seasons; summer, which lasts from July - August, and non-summer, which is the entire rest of the year. The chance of rain on any given day is high, and jeans have become my daily uniform. Because of this, I realized I need to take a different approach to capsule wardrobing than my friends who are participating in areas with more greater climate changes and clear "seasons". 

Instead of choosing 30 pieces for each season and creating a wardrobe, I'll still be thinking minimally, and when I get something new I'll get rid of something else. But my wardrobe looks too similar between fall/winter/spring to have three "different" wardrobes. I'm considering a few options, possibly having a summer wardrobe, and then a larger "fall/winter/spring" wardrobe. I'm not sure of the specifics yet but I know I need to tailor it to the consistent weather year-round here, and that I need more variety than 30 pieces for 10 months of the year.

What I've loved the most from participating in a capsule wardrobe for the past fall and winter seasons is that I have a greater sense of my style now. I know my daily uniform consists of jeans and a neutral sweater. This has greatly helped me when shopping; since I know what gets the most wear in my closet, I know what to shop for and what to pass up on, no matter how great the sale is.

I've also loved pairing down. I was an excessive-clothes type of person before (just ask my college roommate about the semester we shared a closet and we broke the closet rod, thanks to the weight of everything we packed in there) and now I actually like having fewer choices, just keeping my favorites and what fits. It makes getting dressed in the morning so much easier. 

I'll be adjusting and posting an update once I figure out my plan. Would love to hear if you also capsule-wardrobe and have adjusted for same weather throughout most of the year. Share your strategies in the comments!