Tag: ltkunder50

fashion, Travel, What's New

Best Swimsuits EVER!

Featuredby Angela ThomasLeave a Comment on Best Swimsuits EVER!

Every single time I go to the beach I look at houses for sale because I never want to leave! Any one else do this too?! 😂 It is the best form of self-care for me. I am working on a travel guide for 30A and that should be up in the next few weeks. But, until then, I wanted to talk about the best swimsuits ever! P.S. they’re on sale!

If you haven’t tried anything from Aerie, you are seriously missing out. I haven’t tried anything from them I haven’t loved. Once I discovered how amazing their swimwear is, I knew I had to share it with you all!

The Aerie brand is built on celebrating and advocating for body positivity and the empowerment of all women. Their clothing is meant to inspire customers to love their real selves, inside and out. Personally, I think their swimsuits do just that! They make me feel the most comfortable and confident I have ever been in a swimsuit.

Pictured above is what I like to call my “Carole Baskin” swimsuit 🐆 ! It is seriously the cutest thing and it is so on trend right now. I don’t normally purchase printed swimwear, but I am so glad I got this one. This style is the Wide Strap Scoop Bikini Top paired with the High Cut Cheeky Bikini Bottom. The top gives the perfect amount of support and has no padding in it, which I love! It also doesn’t dig into my skin and didn’t move around and leave me with weird tan (ahem, sunburn) lines. Let’s talk about the high-waisted bottoms for a second. Y’all, these are not the normal high-waisted diaper/grandma look. They are high cut on the leg (without showing anything you don’t want to) and the backside is just cheeky enough to keep things fun! 🍑 🍑 🍑 They also suck you in a little but definitely don’t feel constraining so you can eat as manyyy beach snacks as you like!

For this next suit, I opted for something I typically never do — strapless. I normally loathe anything strapless because more often than not you see people constantly tugging and pulling up anything without straps. It is just never a good look. But this top, the Ribbed Longline Bandeau, stays right where you put that thing on! I absolutely adore it and the bright color of this suit.

Aerie make it easy to mix and match different styles of tops and bottoms as well as prints. I recommend their suits to all of my friends and I know you won’t be disappointed if you pick some up for yourself. They also offer a great rewards program, so get to shopping today and start earning some points!

Let me know if you find one you love by leaving a comment below! Can’t wait to share more about my mini-vacay with you!

Beauty, fashion, What's New

june makeup must-haves + effortless summer dress

Featuredby Angela ThomasLeave a Comment on june makeup must-haves + effortless summer dress

I hope everyone is having a great week so far! It has been rainy here in Alabama, but thankfully that has cooled things down a bit! At the beginning of quarantine, I was seriously judging everyone who was wearing makeup and anything other than stretchy pants while they were confined to their own home. But now I have become one of those people! In order for me to be productive, I have to get up and get ready as if I am physically going into work or I won’t feel like doing anything all day. Quickly, I found that doing my full-face routine was just too much, so I adapted my routine to a simplified and more summer-friendly look.

The past month I have been trying out some new makeup products and I am excited to share these with you because I think they are a must to add to your makeup bag! I always love drugstore products —they have come such a long way since I was a diving into the world of cosmetics as a kid. Unfortunately for my bank account, I go through phases where I am also really into higher-end products. This was one of those times, but I am so glad that I splurged because these products are worth it! All of these products are linked so you can purchase directly.

Make Up Forever Blurring Powder Foundation – This stuff is a game changer! Easy and quick application with great coverage for everyday that is buildable. This can also be used as a powder to set your makeup! If I do a light foundation or just some concealer, I swirl a powder brush in this product and then set it. The shade finder on Sephora makes it easy to find the right shade for your skin and undertones — I use the shade Ivory.

Fenty Beauty Freestyle Bronzer – This is my first Fenty Beauty product and will definitely not be my last! The quality of this product gets 5+ stars easily. There is a great shade range in this product. I purchased the color “Amber,” which is a contour shade. It is the perfect cool contour for fair skin and I wish I had found it sooner. I use this e.l.f. brush to apply some product under my cheekbones, around my forehead, sides of nose, and jawline. Even if you aren’t doing a full glam face, just blending some of this product in will give you an effortless pulled together look!

Benefit Cosmetics Gold Rush Blush – I LOVE this blush. It is a perfect blend of a warm and glowy peach shade that makes you look perfectly flushed and summer ready! Highly recommend because you can skip highlighter with this product since it has a bit of shimmer in it.

Tarte Sea Breezy Cream Bronzer – Waterproof and buildable, a bronzer that applies effortlessly. It really gives you a just got back from the beach glow! I stipple a little of this over my blush and around the forehead to warm up my face.

Keep reading to get the outfit details!

Breezy Summer Dress

This effortlessly chic and flowy dress is a must buy! You can wear this around the house working from home, for a fun summer dinner date, or while running errands. It is so versatile and I need it in more colors!

Earrings: Kathryn Stallworth Designs | Hat: Amazon

Headed to the beach later this week and I can’t wait to relax and let my brain reset. Talk to y’all again soon!

Health, Life Seasons, What's New

the burden is not light

Featuredby Angela ThomasLeave a Comment on the burden is not light

The girl in the pictures above looks happy, light, and care free. But it has taken quite some time to feel comfortable in who she is, flaws and all.

Talking about mental health and working through those issues is hard. But discussing it in the south, seems even harder.

Almost two years ago I realized my anxiety was something I couldn’t control on my own anymore. No matter how much I tried to remove stressors from my life, practice self-care, or pray about it, I just couldn’t do it on my own.

I was worrying over minute details. I was always exhausted, but couldn’t seem to find any rest in my body or my mind. Concentrating on tasks at work was hard. I became irritable over the strangest things and would allow these moods to ruin my day because they were controlling my life.

I finally decided to do something about this and sought medical help for a prescription. While it took some trial and error with different medications and took my body some time to adjust, it improved my day-to-day life tremendously. I could finally function again.

But oddly enough, I felt embarrassed I needed help. I felt ashamed every morning I pulled my little green pills out to take one. I grew up learning people who sought assistance with something like anxiety or depression basically just needed to toughen up and pray about it.

Many will say, “Oh God is just testing you, He never gives more than you can handle!” or “Your mental illness is a punishment for sinning.” I prayed and pleaded with God for so long. I felt as if something were wrong with me or I was doing something wrong and that is why I couldn’t shake the feeling of anxiety constantly overwhelming me. So why wasn’t God “fixing” me?

The prevailing culture of silence along with misguided attitudes and erroneous expectations often cause suffering believers to feel shamed, blamed and very unsupported. *raises hand*

It look me quite some time. But I finally became PROUD of myself for taking the initiative to do something. Through this journey, I have even found a therapist I love (who I should definitely visit more often.) I know some people laugh that I pay money to express my thoughts and concerns with a “stranger” every few weeks. But whew it is money well spent!

I encounter this stigma around mental health often living in the south. The idea that the disruptions in our brains can be simply solved with prayer. I have to pause and say that my faith is very strong and real and I believe in the healing powers of Jesus. But He also created modern medicine and the will and sense to utilize these resources. We get confused when we think we can’t take a prescription because it would mean we don’t trust God enough.

So friends if you are going through it or have been there before, please know you are not alone. I am so proud to see how progressive the mental health movement has become and the openness a lot of my friends and I have about needing a little extra “help.” Let’s continue that momentum and encourage others to take care of their mental health in whatever capacity they need.