Berry Nice Lips

Everyone knows that come fall, dark colors overtake the pastels and whites in our wardrobe. But this fall a new trend was seen on the runway, dark romantic makeup, specifically lips. Dark fall colors like berry and plum made an impact at New York's MET Gala and all over the runway sparking a trend throughout the beauty obsessed.

The key with dark lips is to keep the rest of your makeup understated. Clean skin with minimal eye make-up really allows your lips to take center stage. If the idea of wearing dark lips this season makes you nervous, try experimenting with different shades and blotting. Dark lips is flattering on all skin tones and is a great night look.

Try: 

Victoria Secret Makeup Perfect Lipstick in Vixen $12 at Victoria Secret

Nars Lipstick in Scarlet Empress

DIY Pregame Dress

For a sorority girl like myself, Michigan football Saturdays are about more than just football. Game days in the eyes of most sorority girls are about proving your ability to deck yourself out in Maize and Blue in the cutest way possible. Bows, face tattoos, beads, baseball caps, American Apparel headbands, we've seen it all. Michigan's summer is short lived and my friends and I knew that this very might well be our last opportunity at a nice game day before succumbing to leggings and sweatshirts. We decided to take advantage of the last 70 degree game day by making our own pregame dresses.

These dresses are so easy to make and are fool-proof since they didn't involve any cutting!

You'll need:
An oversized t-shirt of whatever design you'd like your dress to have
(We used an X-L tshirt)

How To:
Pull the collar over your head and under your arms so it looks like your wearing a tube-top. Tie back the sleeves behind you in a double knot and you are good to go!

Velvet Nails

At school doing my nails every week seems to be some of the rare "me time" I get during the week. I've developed an impressive collection over the years and would often lend out colors to friends in my sorority for us to do our nails before a night of going out. With fall approaching rapidly, I've had to part with my corals, baby pinks, and lilacs and instead have made the shift to more dark, fall worthy shades.

A new up and coming fall nail trend is the new "velvet manicure". Last season it was the matte manicure that caught everyone's attention, but now velvet takes the stage. Ciaté's new Velvet Manicure kit comes in 3 different shades: Berry Poncho, 3am Girl, and Cream Soda.

The special ingredient in this manicure kit is the crushed velvet powder that you apply to your nails after painting them with the matching accompanying color. What your left with is an avant-garde nail style just like those seen on the catwalks this season!

 Buy here: ciate velvet nail kit from Sephora

                                                                       video tutorial how to: velvet nail tutorial

DIY hair mask

Being back at school my hair takes a bigger beating than normal with all the blow drying and styling. Since I'm not a fan of split ends I've been researching some DIY hair masks to keep my hair healthy and shiny. What I loved about this hair mask was that all the ingredients are made up of common foods that most people keep in their kitchen! This mask is great for hair growth increasing shine and softness.

You'll need:
2 egg yolks
2 tblsp olive oil
1 cup water

How to:
Mix the egg yolks and olive oil together and add the water to dilute it. Massage the mixture into your scalp and hair. Leave the mask in for 15-20 minutes so all the nutrients get absorbed and then rinse it out.

Vegetable Lasagna

It feels good to be back! These past couple of weeks I've been so overwhelmingly busy with moving back to school and getting settled with a routine. Since classes officially started yesterday it seems I'll have some semblance of a schedule now! Being a junior on campus now means that I've graduated dorm life, moved past the sorority house, and am now officially living on my own (well plus 4 other girls) in a house. Since I won't have access to the dining hall and my meals are no longer catered to me, I knew before going away that I would have to master some of my favorite recipes and create some new ones.

I absolutely love Italian food. Anything with tomato sauce and cheese I instantly adore. Though I knew back at school that I couldn't get away with making myself pizza and baked ziti every single night. So I tried to come up with a new recipe that would allow me to get my fix without the guilt. Introducing Veggie Lasagna. This dish is vegetarian and gluten free and can be used as a meal or simply a side dish. It is so easy to prepare and is so incredibly healthy.

You'll need:
Any mix of vegetables you like. I used:
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Zucchini
Squash
Brussel Sprouts
Onion
Tomato Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Olive Oil
Seasoning (sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, italian seasoning)

How to:
Wash, cut, and clean all the vegetables properly. Next spread them out on baking sheets and mix the veggies with a nice coating of olive oil, salt, pepper, and some garlic powder.

Cook all the vegetables on 350 until they start to tenderize. I finished my vegetables off with a broil for about 2-3 minutes so they have a bit of a crunch. When they're all cooked, mix them all into a baking pan with the tomato sauce and any extra seasoning you feel is needed.

 Lay the mozzarella on top and let it cook on a low heat until the mozzarella is fully melted.

 Bon Appétit!