How to Get the Perfect Brunch Beauty Look; Expert Tips from Beauty Guru Kimberly Arnold

If you’re an avid bruncher, you know that the act of going to brunch is more than just a special occasion – it’s a lifestyle, and it’s a time to make a statement with how you look from head to toe. Most weekend brunches are the necessary post-going out ritual that just somehow cures your hangover with magical brunch feels. But, that doesn’t mean that you can just roll out of bed with smudged makeup on from the night before and expect to look ready to take on the day!

Brunch beauty is just as important to keep in mind as it is with your outfit. However, don’t be fooled that you have to put on as much makeup as you did the night before. I personally love the fresh-faced, minimal makeup look because it’s simple, quick and pretty without looking overdone.

Kimberly Arnold, founder of the blog Bitches Who Blend is a beauty industry veteran of over seven years of experience, and a guru of all things makeup and skincare.  She’s worked with global brands like Bobbi Brown, Estée Lauder, NARS and more. With over three years of experience as a beauty writer as well, she lives and breathes the beauty world.

I knew I needed to ask her about the ideal brunch beauty look, and just what products the rest of us brunchers definitely need to achieve a natural and effortless-looking appearance.

 “The key to a beautiful summer brunch beauty look is really about creating an effortless-looking, sun-kissed glow. It’s important that your makeup gives you the hydration and sun protection you need, especially if you’ll be brunching outdoors.  Don’t overthink it and get heavy-handed with your brunch beauty look, because you really want your natural beauty to shine through."

 SKIN

After a late night out the evening before brunch, it’s important to recharge your skin. I always say that you should take care of your skin, first and foremost, before thinking about makeup.

Drinking alcohol, especially in excess, can have many negative effects on your body and skin, such as lack of hydration, bloating, and depletion of nutrients. Therefore, it’s really important to drink water consistently after you get home the night before, and in the morning, when you wake up! Not only will this slowly bring your skin back to its natural state, but it will also hydrate you from within. 

Make sure to cleanse skin of any remnants of last night’s makeup thoroughly, and then follow with a hydrating serum, day cream with SPF, and eye cream. If you’re feeling super ambitious, I recommend using a sheet mask. Sheet masks, which are extremely popular in Korea, are typically utilized as a supplemental skincare treatment. Their purpose is to offer intense hydration, which is what the skin desperately needs after an evening of drinking.

Dr. Jart Water Replenishment Cotton Sheet Mask

 

COMPLEXION

Post morning skincare, it’s best to incorporate a hydrating base for makeup. BB creams, CC creams, and tinted moisturizers are all great options for giving you coverage, while replenishing your skin’s moisture levels. If you feel that you need additional coverage, incorporate a more full coverage concealer to conceal blemishes and imperfections, but I would still recommend using a hydrating base for overall coverage.

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30

If you had a late night out, it’s really important to fake the sleep you didn’t get! Incorporating a concealer that is one to two shades lighter than your undereye will not only create a highlighting effect on the face, but it will also make you appear well-rested. If you suffer from naturally dark circles, opt for a peach undertoned corrector before applying your concealer to give you an added brightness. The peach tones in the corrector will cancel out the deep blue undertones that give the look of dark circles.

With summer coming up, who doesn’t want a hint of sun kissed skin? Skip the contouring and use a bronzer simply to add color to your face. Using a matte bronzer, sweep the product with a buffing brush on the temples, cheeks, and under the jawline. This will create an overall warmth to the face and will look really beautiful and effortless.

Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder

Because you’re using bronzer, you can skin a blush, but I prefer a pop of color on the cheeks. I recommend a cream blush to give you that hydrated, sheer wash of color that will give off that flushed-from-within vibe.

My favorite part of any makeup look is creating a healthy, luminous glow. Apply your favorite highlighter to the peaks of your cheekbones, down the nose, on the forehead and chin. If you have oily skin, you can skip this step altogether, or just highlight your cheekbones. When the sun hits your face, you’ll have that J-Lo glow we all envy. Cream and liquid highlighters are best for normal to dry skin types, while powder highlighters are best suited for normal, combination, and oily skin types.

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed

As an optional step, you can set your makeup look with a sheer or translucent powder, but I prefer a more dewy look, so I, personally, skip this step.

EYES

There’s no need to go too crazy with heavy eye makeup, unless that’s your everyday go-to look. I recommend a simple, yet brightening wash of color on the eyelids to give the appearance of more awakened eyes. Cream shadows are great for long-wear and, typically, give an extra glow. Opt for champagnes and golds to give a brightened eye look. Fake lashes can also be used for that extra glam, otherwise your favorite mascara will do the job.

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow

 LIPS

Since you’ll be eating at brunch, you can either go with a tinted balm or sheer lip color, or opt for a lip stain that will last while you’re sipping your Mimosas at brunch.

Tata Harper Volumizing Lip & Cheek Tint

FINISHING TOUCHES

After you’ve finished applying all your makeup, you can opt to set your makeup with a setting spray. Not absolutely necessary, but I definitely recommend it!

Urban Decay All-Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray

Follow @bitcheswhoblend on Instagram for the latest beauty tips, trends and tutorials from Kimberly and other experts & industry professionals.

Ringing in Rosé Season with La Nuit En Rosé: Event Recap

As rosé season emerges, one may ask how to appropriately ring in the precious few months we look forward to all year. The answer is: the annual La Nuit en Rosé Food and Rosé Wine Festival.

For the second year in a row, it was held at Skybar at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood and consisted of a three-day endless rosé celebration. My fab friends Kyle of From Hamptons to Hollywood, Mitch of Cavalier-Crew.com and I got the chance to attend, giving us the pleasure of accessing 6o different rosés from around the world along the gorgeous poolside overlooking all of LA.

Mitch and I attended the Rosé Sunset Soiree on Saturday night. It was a great turn out, with many people walking around sampling rosés, lounging by tables and mingling with others. Dim lighting with strung lights across the pool created a very sexy, refined ambiance. Although many attended, the charm of the intimate outdoor terrace created a very luxe, exclusive experience.

Of course one of the ultimate highlights of the event was this amazing video booth.

Rosé vendors were incredibly friendly and enjoyable to talk to. I loved learning about different rosés and discovering what makes them so different, whether they were more floral, fruity, dry, light, or sweet. It’s hard to believe that so many unique blends exist! It was super pretty and very fitting that many of the rosés on display were illuminated with pink lighting.

While nearly all of them were extremely pleasing to the palate, I hands down fell in love with Fantinel, a bubbly rosé from Italy. It was sweet, but not overpoweringly sweet because of its similar consistency and taste to champagne. And if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm totally champs obsessed. Fantinel was one of the select rosés at the event that was bubbly, but that made it really stand out from the others. It was so crisp, tantalizing and an absolutely gorgeous shade of pink. Mitch and I made friends with the Fantinel reps and couldn’t stop coming back over for another refreshing swig! 

The following day was the Rosé Pool Party where Mitch, Kyle and I got to come into the event as a triple threat – determined to discover more amazing rosé and take endless pictures for our future posts. The blog is always on the brain!

The vibe of the pool party was very Hamptons-esque, which was really cool to get a taste of on the West Coast. Lots of people were wearing white (like myself), some springy pops of color, and a handful were donning their best swim suits.

Lots more mingling went on and we connected with a bunch of cool people. It was such a nice day out with the sun shining and the music bumping. With a glass of rosé in hand, you couldn’t help but just genuinely have a great time!

The event (which I wish spanned longer than just a weekend!) was incredibly chic and enjoyable. It was so cool to be able to meet people with similar styles and tastes, and to have the opportunity to open my eyes to so many amazing rosé brands from around the globe. With each sip of a different blend, I truly did feel more cultured! The weekend had the perfect amount of sexiness, sophistication, trendiness and lightheartedness – it was evident after each guests’ (and our's) frequent trips back to their favorite rosé stations that the event was a total success.

I already cannot wait for next year’s event! Huge thank you to La Nuit en Rosé for a very fun and beautiful weekend with friends. Life is waaay more fun through rosè colored glasses. ;)

Interested in attending next year? Be sure to visit nuitrose.com and follow @nuitrose on Instagram for all the deets on future La Nuit en Rosé happenings.

Wear Your Favorite Skyline to Your Next Brunch with City + Sky Jewelry Collection

Since little girls, twin sisters Allison Edwards and Courtney Edwards never lost their love for fashion, accessorizing and dressing the part. With age, a love for travel, the arts and enjoying the city life led them to pursue their creative talents and provide a showcase of things cherishable to them. The ladies created Where Wear in The City, a site giving its readers the perfect fix for all things fashion, lifestyle, and events. Fast forward a few years later, now having a super strong online following, the ladies decided to bring their vision of a unique ready to wear jewelry line and bring it to life. 

Charmed by the demure of cities and all that they entail, their love for the city was evident. They also wanted to represent something from the heart, promoting peace, happiness and a worldly view of the sky above. The Edwards sisters firmly believe where you came from and where you are in life is all about embracing the then and the now. Together with a vivid imagination, the will to infuse and inspire those, City + Sky arrived. 

Whether you fell in love with a city you visited once, or moved from home and want something unique as a reminder of where you came from, these pendants will certainly hold a special place in your heart. Being bicoastal myself, I absolutely adore these pieces and love how I can take a part of home with me everywhere I go!

See what the ladies of Where Wear in The City/City + Sky have to say about the evolution of their brand, a few of their favorite brunch spots in their own city of Dallas and how to snag one of these gorgeous statement pieces! 

1. Tell us a little bit about you and your site, Where Wear in The City!

Beginning as a blog, Where Wear in the City came to life. Focusing online content about fashion, health, beauty, events, entertainment, culture and anything else we found favorable. With years of both being best known as the “social chairs,” “event planners,” and “fashion go to girls,” we decided it was time to put our experiences into words and share to those who would read it. Soon after, Where Wear in the City became a very popular website and is still going strong.

2.      You’re experts on fashion, lifestyle, beauty, culture and events in numerous cities. I see that you’re based out of Dallas. As a brunch connoisseur and someone who hasn’t been to the South (yet!), I’d love to know where your favorite place to brunch in Dallas is.  

Aww yes brunch is always a good idea! We love Bistro 31, State and Allen, Oddfellows, Parigi and The Standard Pour.

3.     You’ve created a very unique and fabulous line of jewelry called City + Sky, a collection inspired by the gorgeous skylines of our favorite cities. Tell us when you launched and about the inspiration behind the line.

Aww thank you! We launched back in October of 2014, when Dallas was voted the best international skyline! We wanted to create something unique, visible and spin off of our blog-Where Wear in the City! We knew cities and states had been done but there was little to show about city skylines. We definitely think they represent the uniqueness of the city!

4.     How many city skylines are you offering?

We currently have 11 cities: Dallas, Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, New Orleans, Chicago, London, Miami. We are working on Portland, Nashville, Charleston and Boston.

5.     I love how you offer pendants with the Los Angeles and New York City skylines! It’s great how people who’ve lived in multiple cities can wear your jewelry and be reminded of home in such a trendy way. How do you choose what features of each city to use in your pendants?

We definitely research the actual city skyline because we want each skyline to be perfect and worthy of that conversation!  We also try to add something unique about it, like adding palm trees to the Los Angles and Miami skylines and the fleur de lis to our New Orleans one! 

6.     What do you feature on the Los Angeles pendant? The New York City pendant?

For the Los Angeles one we feature the downtown skyline but add that extra touch of palm trees as we mentioned above. After living in LA for a short period, palm trees and the beach cities have always been something we admired about Southern California. You definitely won't find anything of that nature in Texas!! For the NYC one, we have the Empire State Building as a focal point and we added the Statue of Liberty even though its technically not part of their actual city skyline. We loved seeing it when we ran the NYC marathon years ago while riding the ferry to Staten Island, so we knew it had to be included!

7.     We totally want to wear a pendant to our next brunch! Talk about a conversation starter. To all my LA and NYC friends, we know where to find our pendants. What if we go to your site and we don’t see a certain city we want on a necklace?

You can definitely visit our site at: www.wearcitysky.com. If we don’t have a particular skyline or want a custom piece feel free to see our shop custom page on our site or shoot us an email.

8.     What kinds of opportunities have you been able to take on since City + Sky launched? What plans do you have for the future?

We definitely hit the ground running since beginning City+Sky. We were able to participate in Belk’s Southern showcase in Charlotte, were featured on the Today Show in September and we did our first NYFW runway show which paired our looks, jewelry, music around our current cities, was so much fun! We have also done a handful of trunk shows in Dallas, Houston and Austin and are looking to expand into other cities for trunk shows, retail and speciality boutiques. We hope to do a few events in Los Angeles, Dallas and Austin this summer and the Williamsburg Flea in Brooklyn this fall too!

Follow the ladies of Where Wear in The City / City + Sky on Social Media: 

WhereWearInTheCity.com, WearCitySky.com

Instagram: @wherewearinthecity, @wearcitysky

Facebook: Where Wear In The City, City + Sky

Twitter: @WearCitySky, @wherewearincity

Join the #ChampagneSociety with Kyle of From The Hamptons To Hollywood, Bicoastal Blogger & Witty Apparel Designer

Being bicoastal is the the lifestyle that many dream of. Being able to experience new things in unfamiliar places can often be intimidating, but extremely invigorating. Your life experience from where you started has the potential to help give you that extra push to accomplish big things on the opposite coast. 

Kyle Langan of the award-winning blog, From The Hamptons to Hollywood is someone that can totally relate. The former Hamptonite turned Angeleno originally created his site to showcase the luxe lifestyles of the Hamptons and Los Angeles, by specializing in fashion, food, events and witty editorial content. Now, a few years later, he has created a collective social media group called #ChampagneSociety and has launched a fun apparel line that has struck the attention of many... including the team at Bagatelle.

Check out what Kyle has to say about his journey from the Hamptons to Hollywood.

1. How did you come up with the concept for From The Hamptons to Hollywood, and why did you start blogging?

I started my blog when I moved from the Hamptons to LA; it was originally an online journal on my adventures in Los Angeles, and then since it’s grown, I’ve tackled highlighting the lifestyle of both locales.

2. What do you find similar about the fabulous lifestyle in The Hamptons vs. LA? What do you find different? 

The similarities are that they both offer a casually luxurious lifestyle. The Hamptons are an escape, so there’s definitely a “have fun and chill” atmosphere. LA isn’t as formal a city as other huge ones, like New York, so they both have a laid back and fun vibe. The people are the biggest differences; attitudes, culture, interests, etc.

3. Tell us a little bit about you and what you do when you aren't blogging. 

Blogging is my life. Duh. ;)

4. You and I both share an obsession with Bagatelle brunch. Why do you love it so much? 

It’s just abashed, no-holds-barred revelry at it’s best. Everyone is there with the same goal – have as much fun as possible – and that energy is infectious and so fun to be around.

5. What is your favorite spot in LA for brunch? In the Hamptons?

LA: The Ivy, just because. Hamptons? Navy Beach.

6. You've created a part of your blog that serves as a collective of loyal readers of Hamptons to Hollywood called Champagne Society. Tell us about why you created this fun concept, and how we can become members too!

I created the #ChampagneSociety for 2 reasons – I wanted my audience to have a name that made them feel included in what I was reporting on and that I could refer to them as, and I wanted a term that embodied the lifestyle of the Hamptons and LA…and it doesn’t really get much more luxurious than champagne. I encourage everyone living the life my blog represents to tag their photos with #ChampagneSociety, to create a collective group where readers can find other readers through the tag.  

7. You've started selling apparel on your site inspired by the casually luxurious lifestyle that your site represents. I love the shirt that says, "On Wednesdays We Fly Private." What made you want to start an apparel line? What are some of your favorite shirts you've designed? What's in store for future designs?

I’ve always been interested in fashion to a degree, but I’m no Tom Ford! I wanted something simple and comfy that had and witty phrases that are just are fun to read, just like my blog :) The first idea was the #ChampagneSociety tank so I like that one and I chuckle every time I see Your Stomach Flu Is My Goal Weight. I’m always thinking of new ones.

8. What's a really cool collaboration you've done with a brand or another influencer that is your favorite to date?

I’m really excited because I partnered with Bagatelle LA and I’ll be hosting the inaugural #ChampagneSociety brunch on May 22nd. Our brands complement each other perfectly and I’ll also be having a Pop-Up Shop for patrons and guests to buy my apparel for the first time in person.

9. There are so many cool parts of your site - from fashion to lifestyle to food and so much more. How do you manage your time? What's your process for creating new content for each section? Do you ever get overwhelmed? 

It can get pretty hectic sometimes, But I set hard deadlines for myself. Also, not sleeping and coffee helps! I am always trying to think outside the box and collaborate with brands and companies to create cool content we can both benefit from.

10. Name your favorite champagne cocktail, if you have one.

I don’t discriminate :)

11. Are you more of an upscale bruncher, local bruncher, party bruncher...?

The thing about brunch is you can check out a local spot this weekend and then do something completely different the next. I love a fancy brunch, but I like to rage too.

12. As another East Coast transplant like myself, what do you think you bring to the "scene" in LA?

A fresh perspective, a great sense of humor, and perpetual optimism.

13. What's your favorite rooftop spot in LA?

The London rooftop.

14. What's the coolest event that you've been to in LA since you've been here? There's posts on your site of you from LA Fashion Week and quite a few launch parties.

When I tried to sneak into the Golden Globes!

15. Tell us your mantra you live by.

Life is too short to be anything but happy.

16. What words of advice could you give someone who wants to become a successful entrepreneur or a blogger like yourself? 

Never stop dreaming and be persistent. I can’t tell you how many crazy ideas I’ve had that I thought would never pan out, but by being nice, fearless, and having a good pitch to get someone to want to work with you, you can totally make it happen. I’m kinda living proof!

Keep up with Kyle and all the happenings on From The Hamptons to Hollywood and on Instagram at  @hamptonstohollywood.

Getting The Perfect Brunch Bod & Having Your Mock-Mosa Too

As much as I Iove to brunch, drink champagne and treat myself to fluffy golden pancakes on the weekends, I also am really passionate about living a healthy lifestyle by balancing the indulgences with great work outs. When I'm in the mood for a bubbly mimosa mid-week, I hold out for the weekend, but have my own go-to mock-mosa that does the trick!

Working out truly keeps me sane, and I love to always shake up my usual work out routine with something different. I switch off between barre, pilates, boxing, TRX, yoga, and all the other good stuff at the gym 3-4 times per week.  All of them really help me clear my mind and allow me to take just one hour out of the day to not think about anything but my intense sweat sesh! Although I’m more of a less frequent yogi, I absolutely love how it detoxes my mind of any stress. Sometimes a great yoga class is much needed after a week of going, going, going.

 My favorite method to burn the cals? It’s really hard because all of them work the body so differently. I’d say I honestly don’t know how I even lived before I started TRX, barre, and pilates about 2 years ago. I swear by nothing else! 

Going out & working out. Which comes first?

Personally, I always feel best working out the morning that I know I am going to go out later that night. Going the day of also helps me just feel a little bit better in general about my guilty food and mixed drink splurges that will occur later on.

As much as I want to wake up early the next morning and head straight to a class, it doesn’t usually happen (even though I always tell myself the day before I would tooootally go the minute I wake up). Plus, when you have brunch plans, by the time you actually get yourself out of bed, you already have to leave! A morning after drinking is a morning in slow motion.

Okay, so I work out a few times a week. What happens when I just want a mimosa on a Wednesday morning?

In a perfect world of not gaining a tummy pooch from drinking, why wouldn’t anyone start every day without a mimosa?! But, since this is the real world, I have found another way to get my mimosa fix; with a mock-mosa!

I always head to Choice Juicery for my Hot Sunrise juice. It’s a gorgeous yellow/orange color (like a mimosa) made of coconut water, orange, strawberry, ginger, lime and cayenne. The cayenne is great for a metabolism boost and the orange-y taste mimics the traditional mimosa, just without bubbles. I even love drinking it post-going out or post-brunching if I have been treating myself to a couple cocktails. It’s a great detox, and could probably be made in a juicer at home! Don’t quote me on that, but it’s worth a try. Otherwise, most juiceries carry juices in the orange-flavored family that can work just as well. When I was living in NYC, the Spicy Citrus juice from Juice Press was my favorite and is very similar to the Hot Sunrise.

Drink it out of a champagne flute to add a little festivity to your weekday morning! It’s the little things.

How do you get your brunch bod? 

Photography by: Elijah Saldana