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Home Loft Tour

February 23, 2017

Today I’m taking you inside our loft with a peek at our living space. Over the past couple of years so many of you have asked for a home tour. I’ve shown snippets here and there but as a rather private person I’ve been a bit hesitant to share our home, but today I’m finally giving you a look into our loft. This post is bittersweet for me because as this post is being published we’ve actually packed everything up inside a moving truck and are on the road as we are relocating to Tampa, Florida! If you remember our Florida trip over the holiday this was a trip to explore the area and see if we could actually live there. I’ve lived in California for pretty much my entire life but both my husband and I felt like we were ready for a change of scenery and so decided to embark on a new adventure. There were a number of reasons we picked Florida, but the main reasons were weather and pet-related. We both like warm weather (I can’t remember the last time we’ve seen snow!) and the warm Florida climate seemed like the perfect place to transition to. Also because we have two dogs and a cat we ruled out cities for the time being. Our dogs need a nearby park or a backyard to run around in. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions for me. I can’t help but feel excited, sad, thrilled, apprehensive, and happy all at the same time. California has been home and I’ve never lived in another place since I was seven (aside from a couple months of travel) so leaving kinda breaks my heart. However we aren’t really saying goodbye. Who knows what will happen in the future, we may return or might find we fall in love with another city. Right now we’re saying yes to new adventures.

Enough rambling, onto our home tour. When we moved into this loft we were looking for a small-to-medium yet modern looking space. The floor to ceiling windows were just to die for beautiful and we fell in love with it as soon as we saw it. The concrete building was so different from our beach house that we had lived in previously for almost a decade. Out of all the places I’ve lived this has definitely been one of the most unique and memorable. I wanted to document bits here and there for memories and thought I’d share it with you too.

I have an empty space photo to show, this is what it looks like right before we moved out, empty just like it did when we moved in. Since it’s a loft it’s primarily an open space although the kitchen area is lined up on a dividing wall to separate the bedroom/office area. Shown below our Away Carry-Ons reviewed here.

How we furnished the living room below. Since lofts tend to be small, all space had to be used or multi-purpose. The living area also has a work out section with a treadmill and a marble desk that doubles as a dining area and work space. By the time I took these photos we had already started packing up some of our things but this is pretty much what it looked like while we lived here. I’ll list our furniture at the bottom by room.

Our loft is basically one big open space however we did have a partial dividing wall to separate an area for the bedroom and a corner by the window that I could use as my blog/work/storage area. The bedroom area was large enough for a king size bed and Ikea closet units with plenty of room for dressers and a side chair (not shown).

Bathroom:

My work corner and a peek at how I organize my beauty products. Organization has always been a challenge. As a beauty blogger I go through quite a bit of product for testing and also for use. Being able to find things is essential especially for referencing items for comparisons or just know where something is when I want to use it. The organization system has always been evolving. I’ll do a separate post on organization for beauty. For now here’s a look at the different items I’ve tried. My husband had begged me for months to invest in a good tall cabinet or tall drawer unit. I was reluctant to install a closet system anywhere because for beauty products I either needed shallow drawers to be able to see things laid out versus stacked. Or I needed something clear to be able to see things easily.

Since I don’t use products from a single brand, bur rather many and also since makeup and skincare comes in a shapes, sizes, heights, widths etc. finding something to store a wide range of items has been challenging. I started with Muji acrylic drawers which I find great for lipstick, glosses, small compacts, but it requires you to lay things flat. Also sizes are limited. It took me over a year of research to decide what other acrylic units to invest in. Many are expensive and the biggest deterrent for me was the time it took to make and ship the units. Some said it would take anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks as each one was custom made. I lack patience when it comes to shipping so I didn’t order one until I found two options that would ship immediately. GLAMboxes launched on QVC with inexpensive quick shipping so I ordered the GLAMboxes GLAMpetite with a Partial Lid ($199). Another one I found with good reviews is the Original Beauty Box and they did not have a long wait time for shipping so I also ordered the Deluxe Beauty Box ($159) to compare. Both are well made and the drawers slide easily and smoothly which was really important for me. I haven’t seen a wide range of acrylic units so I can’t report on quality comparisons to other brands, but both are functional, well made, sturdy and work well. Since the Original Beauty Box has drawers that are taller it worked better for me. Although it can get heavy if you stack items – I haven’t had any issues opening the drawers with what I put inside though. I liked the Original Beauty Box so much I ordered two more.

Other storage units include Ikea Alex Drawers (I like the wider ones). Inside I use Container Store plastic bins and lipstick dividers to store and organize products. They aren’t completely filled with plastic bins as I find some items are ok free floating.

To organize new products to be tested or swatched I started using clear plastic shoe boxes from the Container Store. The ones I bought were relatively cheap in price and look and feel cheap, but they are functional and fit my bookshelves perfectly so right now they work.

Below, left to right: GLAMboxes GLAMpetite with a Partial Lid, Muji Acrylic Stand, Ikea Alex Drawer with Container Store plastic dividers

I’ve tried to list everything by room for those curious about where we bought our home furnishings. It took us at least six months to fully furnish the place as we found it challenging to find what we wanted that would ship within a reasonable time. It had been a few years since we did major furniture shopping so we did not realize that buying furniture would require sometimes several months for delivery time. If there’s anything I missed let me know – I will be traveling cross country this week but will get back to you as soon as we’ve had a chance to settle in.

Living Room

Rochelle Couch from Crate and Barrel
Rochelle Side Chairs from Crate and Barrel
Wooden coffee table from Crate and Barrel, discontinued old style, current version here
Tulip round side tables (one marble, one black wood) from Rove Concepts
Side rectangular glass tables from Crate and Barrel
Large floor lamp from CB2
Black leather chairs from IFN Modern
Blue rug from Crate and Barrel
Large metal tray from Pottery Barn (old style)
Walnut shelves and console from Modani (older styles)
Treadmill from Nordic Track (last year’s model, current one is the 1750 here)
Yoga mat the Manduka PRO Yoga Pilates Mat (old style, but it’s the PRO version)

Bathroom

White shelves and cabinet units from Restoration Hardware
Hydro Cotton towels from Pottery Barn
Light sensor mirror by Simple Human
Glass canisters from Crate and Barrel

Bedroom

Bed from Crate and Barrel, Tate Style
Bedding from a mix of West Elm (braided quilt and mini stripe coverlets) and Pottery Barn (old style)
Closet solutions and shoe storage from Ikea
Night stand tables from Crate and Barrel (Osborn style, discontinued)

My Office Space

Walnut bookshelves and desk from Crate and Barrel, Anderson Style (discontinued), almost identical desk version here
White Alex drawers from Ikea
Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker (old style, current model is the Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker II)
Makeup organizers from Muji, GLAMboxes and Original Beauty Box (I will do a separate review on these detailing why I ordered what I did and what I ended up liking or disliking about each style)
Clear containers in drawers from the Container Store
Desk lamp from Design Within Reach
White leather desk chair is the SOHO Eames Style Soft Pad Management Chair
Wood desk chair from Pottery Barn
Walnut drawer unit from Wayfair
Sheepskin rug from Pottery Barn

I hope you enjoyed this home tour even though by now we have moved on. There were some areas such as our closet, kitchen details and bathroom areas which I didn’t photograph but hope this gives you a glimpse into how we decorated and styled our home. My husband and I have similar but different tastes. He loves more color and fun accents while I would be thrilled to have an entire monochrome house with neutrals. I think we found a good balance with this one. For our next home the space we will have is going to be 2x the size of our loft so there will be a lot of space to fill and decorate.

Many of you have asked how we keep the loft clean with three fluffy pets, all of which have white fur and shed a lot. My husband is the organized and clean one so he did a lot of research on vacuums and pet grooming. We have used an iRobot Roomba for the past 10 years. They get regular use on a daily basis so we’ve gone through 3. We always bought the cheapest option which runs around $400. For Christmas Andrew decided to get the iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuum 980 as my Christmas present. It’s more than double the price but works noticeably better and hands down well worth the investment – especially if you have pets or if your home gets dusty easily. If you want a list of the other vacuums he’s bought I can list them in this post, but the Roombas are a life saver.

I’ll be on the road for the next several days and will have limited access to my computer while we make our way across the US to our new home. You can follow along on Instagram @beautylookbook as I’ll be posting a few things here and there along the way.

Hope your week is going well! More fun beauty reviews to come as soon as I’ve settled in. I was able to get a sneak preview of the new Tom Ford Soleil items yesterday (details on Instagram and if you can catch IG stories before they disappear) and everything is to die for! I also bought three of the Rouge Coco Glosses which I’ll be putting to the test while on the road.

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Home / Interiors Lifestyle

On My Desktop + A Few FAQs

February 13, 2017

Shown above: Byredo Cotton Poplin, Chanel Le Rouge Crayon, Diptyque Baies, Tom Ford Venus Rising, Jason Wu for Caudalie, Chloe Perfume, J.Crew Irving Sunglasses, West Elm Tray

Happy Monday everyone – I hope you had a great weekend! I’ve received a lot of questions about my desktop, home decor and how I clean out candle jars to recycle them. I’ve shown snippets of our home and my desktops here and on Instagram – by popular request I have answers to the most frequently asked questions:

Where is your table from? Our marble table is from Crate and Barrel. We liked this one because of the size options and the simple classic yet modern design. If you search their tables you’ll find a wide range of tops and bases to pick from. I also work on a glass wood table – sometimes you’ll see my computer or what’s on my desktop. That table used to be called the Anderson Desk, but has been re-named Clear Glass Top/Elm Base Table (dimensions and style appear to be identical). This one also comes in different sizes.
Where do you get your trays? I love searching for decorative trays to help organize things. It usually takes me forever to find ones that are the right size and style! I have trays everywhere – on the nightstand, on my bookshelves, on my desks, in the bathroom, in the closet.
Where are your pink sunglasses from? They’re the J.Crew Irving although the pink color is sold out.
How do you clean out the wax from the candle jars without ruining the sticker? I did a post many years ago about how I clean out candle jars here. I use warm water and dish soap (or hand soap). For candles with stickers or labels I find Diptyque is the easiest to clean out – the sticker has a coating that makes it sturdy so you don’t have to worry about getting the exterior wet. Other brands like Byredo, Le Labo, Jo Malone, Cire Trudon or anything with a more delicate label so getting them wet will usually usually ruin the exterior. If you read the comments in the old thread you’ll see many other ways to clean out the wax. Do what works for you! I prefer warm water and soap to clean out the wax and any burnt remnants around the edges. I will say I tried putting several in the freezer and it did not do anything for me. I do suspect it depends how much wax is leftover after you finish burning.
How about the Diptyque Rosa Mundi 2017 version, can you recycle even though the exterior is paper? Yes you can, I got mine a little wet and it was just fine. That being said – since it is paper I wouldn’t soak it in water. I would try to keep the warm water inside only. If you get a little on the outside it won’t hurt it, I just wouldn’t let it sit on the paper. By the way, Rosa Mundi appears to be sold out almost everywhere. I ordered 2 more a few days ago from Neiman Marcus. If you have this on your radar I recommend you act soon.
You showed Nails Inc. Bond Street Passage on Instagram, can you do a neutral nail polish roundup? Yes! I will – finishing the last bits of swatching today so yes, I will be sharing my most-worn neutrals that work for my medium olive toned skin. A lot of beige nail polish pulls really warm and makes my hands look sallow so I’ve found the ones that have pink tones work best for me. Nails Inc Bond Street Passage (shown here and below) is more of a mauve pinky color, but still kinda in the neutral category.

Shown above: KNC Beauty Lip Masks (review soon), Nails Inc Bond Street Passage, Bite Beauty The Perfect Pair Amuse Bouche Duo (Thistle shown), MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lip Color in Sweet Thing, Dior Nude Air Luminizer Powders (reviewed here)

Hope this answered some of your questions! Many of you have asked for a home decor post and I’ve been working to put one together. I hope to have it up very soon.

One last thing, Chanel.com just launched the Rouge Coco Gloss (exclusive to them for now) along with four new nail polishes. I have not tried them yet but they are offering free overnight shipping for Valentine’s Day if you order by 4:00 PM EST on 2/13. Do note that nail polishes still require ground shipping (there will be an alert at checkout). I have my eye on the glosses in Subtil 744 and Rose Pulpe 728!

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Diptyque Fragrance Home / Interiors Lifestyle

Scented Luxuries for the Home

July 28, 2016

I love little home accents to add a bit of luxury whether it’s something as simple as a nice hand wash or a beautiful candle. Little details can add a bit of life to the home or give it a more personal touch. As many of you know, I’m beyond obsessed with Diptyque (my favorites in this round up here). There’s nothing quite like a good scented candle to set the mood and since Diptyque has a wide range of options, there is something for everyone. They are quite the splurge but worth every penny.

I’ve rounded up a few more home fragrance options that I love including items that aren’t candles. All of these can double as great hostess gifts – or really gifts for any occasion. I always have extra Diptyque candles stocked up for those moments I need a last minute gift, or when my husband needs a gift. Of course as one of my friends and I discussed, there are some people who won’t appreciate the special nature of a Diptyque candle in which case we both agree great alternatives are hand creams.

Up first is a line that I just discovered called Antica Farmacista. I’ve seen it at Nordstrom and other retailers and after trying a few items I can’t believe it took me this long to try it out. They’ve been kind enough to offer Beauty Look Book readers a mini body butter with any order, simply use code ANTICABLB at checkout.

I’ve tested out three products so far and a few of you have e-mailed me a few additional recommendations after seeing it featured on my social last week. Their Platinum Round Candles come in a 9 oz size with 60 hours of burn time. They’re cased in a glass jar with a platinum leaf pattern. I’ve been burning Cucumber and Lotus Flower and scent fills the whole room even without burning. The throw is very good once burned and this is such a calming scent. It has a mix of Crenshaw melon, green apple, olive, coriander, heliotrope, rose and jasmine with cucumber. For something that has a lot of notes it smells very streamlined and clean. It is a green scent but a cucumber green versus a leafy green. I highly recommend it, especially with the hot summer heat – it gives the home a cooled effect.

The Reed Diffusers are beautiful. I’ve been using Aqua which is another fresh and clean scent. As with most diffusers the effect is softer than burning a candle or using a room spray but the scent is definitely noticeable. It’s more prominent in smaller rooms like a bathroom, but I’ve placed this in our living room and it gives the entire room a soft clean scent. It’s a huge plus for us since we have 3 furry critters at home (thank God for roombas). We bathe them frequently but and added help with scents is a life saver.

Last but not least are the Body Butters which are ultra luxurious. I normally prefer unscented body products or dry oils (the L’Occitane Extra Gentle Shea Butter is my go-to) but the Bergamot and Ocean Aria is one of the most incredible to die for clean scents I’ve ever tried. It leaves the body feeling silky smooth – no greasy residue left behind. I found it moisturized the body well and didn’t irritate my super sensitive skin (I blow up in bumps if I use Kiehl’s lotions, although I can use their shower gels just fine). Unlike other body butters, the scent lasted all day but was soft enough that it didn’t give me a migraine. I was sent a couple minis, Orange Blossom, Lilac and Jasmine is a sweet orange blossom kind of scent. Prosecco is a citrus floral with black currant, apricot and passionfruit – it smells like a spa.

Books: Harper’s Bazaar Greatest Hits and Tom Ford

Next up includes the cutest travel sized set I think I’ve ever seen. I had to replenish on some shower gels from Molton Brown last month and browsed the site for a few things to add on to my order. I came across the Best Sellers Travel Hand Wash Set and immediately ordered. I literally squealed when they arrived in the mail because I’m a sucker for minis and these each come with a pump. They’re bigger than the tiny baby shower gels which makes them a good trial size but more than a 3x use kind of product. They clean the hands nicely without drying them out and there’s no film leftover after rinsing. My favorite is Pomegranate and Ginger.

These are 100 ml each compared to the full sized Hand Washes that are 300 ml each. Shown hand held also to show scale. I can’t get over how cute these are! They are a little spendy if you break down the set price of $45, it comes out to a little over $11 per mini bottle. There are a few good promos offers online right now though. You can get a free 3.3 fl oz body wash when you spend $70 with code 70WASH at checkout (you get a choice from 15 options) and if you spend $150 you get a 4-piece Travel Set + Luxury Luggage Tag with code GETAWAY150.

Acrylic Tray by West Elm, on the nails Marc Jacobs Resurrection

Other favorite home luxuries include the Lumira Darsana Candle (review here). For those new to Lumira, they are an Australia-based candle company and their scents are incredible. My husband has the Cuban Tobacco in his office. My personal favorite is Tahitian Coconut. Darsana is part of their limited-edition Collezione Bianca launch and I love the clean white packaging.

Diptyque Baies and Figuier are my top two favorites from the line. They have a special limited-edition box in the mini size as part of their summer voyages collection. I splurged on the Large Scented Candle in Figuier once – it cost me an arm and a leg, but my husband wanted one for our home so I didn’t resist. It lasted us for months because I burned a little at a time. We’ve since recycled it and I use it for large flowers or to chill champagne. If you shop at Club Monaco stores they often burn the large Baies candles there and it always smells great in the stores.

Last but not least are Le Labo x The Laundress Detergent. These are extremely pricey so I use them sparingly but they are worth every penny. I can’t decide which one I prefer, Santal has that amazing musky sandalwood and cedar mix which I love. Rose on the other hand smells incredible for sheets and it’s not too girly. On the last special gifting occasion we had my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I asked for a Le Labo Detergent lol! He got me something else instead, he said, “I am not getting you laundry detergent for your birthday – even if it’s fancy.”

That wraps up my roundup of scented luxuries for the home. As always I’d love to hear about your favorites! I think the Antica Farmacista Reed Diffusers are nice alternatives to candles – especially since you don’t have to worry about flames or smoke.

What ways do you add little touches to your home to give it an extra special touch? It doesn’t have be something fragranced! I love adding little decorative objects but it usually takes me ages to find ones that I like. Flowers or candles are the easiest for me because they are so simple. I’d love to hear ideas from you!

Press samples include items from Lumira and Antica Farmacista. All others purchased by me.

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Diptyque Home / Interiors Lifestyle

Beauty Storage Ideas for Minis | Diptyque Recycled

March 8, 2014

I’ve been trying to find a new way to store my mini perfumes and samples. I had been putting them all into a small Jo Malone box but this made it difficult to see what was inside after items started to stack up. I had seen a few pretty small round glass bowls on Pinterest to store them but all the ones I found for sale online were either too shallow or too large in circumference for my needs. I had been storing my longer roller perfumes in Diptyque jars already and it just hit me that I could also use the jars for the mini samples as well.

The minis and samples I’ve been accumulating for a while and three empty Diptyque candles in Noisetier (my new favorite, hazelnut), Musc and Figuier. Silver lacquered rectangle tray shown below is from West Elm.