Saturday Shop: Gameday Edition!

What would a Southern girl be without a little football in her Saturday! 

In honor of our university's Homecoming today we've decided to start off this Saturday Shop post with a look into some of the best online shops for all of your gameday gear! Whether you're cheering on your favorite SEC team from your couch or hitting up a tailgate in your school parking lot we've got you covered!

Now as you can probably tell, we're suckers for a good monogramming opportunity (we are Monogrammed Magnolias, after all) and nothing makes a Southern girl happier when she can mix her football with her monograms!

 

The Pastel Peony on Etsy  has the cutest mix of vinyl decals and in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month the shop is donating 10% of costs on all orders to Making Strides for Breast Cancer! Our favorite piece from their selection is definitely the 4 inch Gameday Football Monogram Decal shown above for $7 (be sure to check out their State Circle Monogram Decal while you're checking out the shop).

Combining one of the biggest trends of fall with your school colors is definitely a Southern girl's dream so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to include SewEMG's school spirited Chevron Infinity Scarves in this post. 

 At just $15.50 these scarves are super affordable compared to many other Etsy shops and come in a variety of color combos, I will definitely be adding this to my shopping cart in the near future!

Our next gameday essential comes from the experts, The Gameday Girls themselves! Home of "The Original Collegiate Pearls", the Gameday Girls handmade pearl earrings were such an obvious choice for this particular post that there was no way we were going to pass them up. 

 You can even get them monogrammed!

Their store is totally customizable and features even more gameday goodies such as necklaces, koozies, and headbands.

This post just wouldn't be complete without at look at Southernly Stated and the 

oh so amazing Game Day Tee!

Loving God, Sweet Tea, and our University is pretty much the basis of a Monogrammed Magnolia so of course this long sleeve tee is perfect for our Southern football Saturday!

May whatever team you cheer for kick-butt, as long as they're not up against our's! 

"Go CATS!" - Danielle

"Roll Tide!" - Merisa

till next time

xo

aFm

Fall Beauty Tutorial: The Cat Eye

The Fall semester is jam packed with events from Homecoming to Halloween and everything in between. If you're like me, you're done with the smoky eye/lip gloss routine and ready for an upgrade. Well that upgrade you're looking for just so happens to be a classic look that will take you through this Fall's festivities in a glam and updated way.

The Cat Eye

For this look, we turn to the Queen of Winged Liner, Miss Lauren Conrad!

I grew up with Lauren, or "LC" as she was known as back then, from the time she was in high school on Laguna Beach all the way through to her role on The Hills and her recent engagement (eek!). Not only has she become one of my role models in life but she's also one of the first people I go to when in need of some beauty advice. See her book Lauren Conrad Beauty or her work with The Beauty Department.

I've been doing this look since I first saw Lauren rock it on The Hills so I can say from experience that practice really does make perfect. Don't stress if you don't get it right on the first try, just grab a makeup wipe and try again!

There are probably tons of ways to pull this look off but I'm going to show you my way...two different ways. The first being a dramatic line fit for a night out such as a Homecoming dance (which just so happens to be this Saturday for our university! Go Bears!) and the second is an everyday cat eye you can fit into your normal makeup routine or if you just want to dress up your look a little.

The Dramatic Look

Step One: Prep your eyes! 
I just recently picked up this tip from a friend and it has become one of my go-to tricks. Primer on your eyelid will do wonders for your makeup look! She suggested putting a little face lotion on your eyelids before doing your makeup, I've upgraded to Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion since but both have similar results. 
For a look like this, I usually go without shadow but for extra sparkle I suggest taking a highlighter such as Benefit Cosmetics Watt's Up! and adding it to your inner corners or using a highlighting shadow in the same area. Remember to stay neutral, otherwise you will overpower the look!
Be careful with the amount of primer you use if you choose to go shadow-less across your lids, if you're not using a waterproof liner things could get smudgy.

Step Two: Line your eyes!
For the more dramatic look you want a defined line and a bold black, so reach for a liquid liner that has a fine tip and easy to hold handle to steady yourself. I use the super affordable Wet 'n Wild MegaLiner Liquid Eyeliner! 

The trick to this is to take your time, rushing will just lead to a sloppy look. Start with your liner at the inner corner of your eye and lightly drag it across your lash line toward your outer corner. That practice I mentioned early makes this step easier with time but if you're having trouble getting a steady line I suggest making 3 dash marks at the inner corner, middle of the lash line, and outer corner then connecting them to keep the line straight and bold.
Staying as close to your natural lash line as possible will lead to the perfect wide-eyed look we're going for, no one likes raccoon eyes!

Step Three: The Wing!
This is part of the line that creates the cat eye effect. For this dramatic look we're going to do a dramatic line. I start by dragging the line out and up from the outer corner then going from the top of the line started on my outer corner and make a small triangle. Fill that in and you've got your look. 
Be sure not to drag your line too far out or too far up. It shouldn't go further than the end of your eyebrow or the top of your lashes.
I'm no LC but here's the dramatic look on me (ahh!).

Everyday Look

For this look, follow steps one and two exactly the same except for a softer look I like to use a waterproof kohl pencil liner. 
Step three consists of just dragging the line slightly beyond your outer corner, just a flick. 
Finish with a coat of mascara and you've got the look, just like Lauren!

I hope you enjoyed it, for more tips on how to achieve the perfect cat eye look check out the links below.

VMA Cateye via The Beauty Department

until next time,
xo
aFm