As soon as I heard that Maya Hayuk was one of the artists for Pow Wow Hawaii I couldn’t wait till the unveiling of what I hoped to be another gorgeous, dripping, neon wall of beauty. After seeing her work on both Bowery St in New York, and Wynwood in Miami, I was so excited for Honolulu to have a piece of her too. Kaka’ako, where Pow Wow Hawaii was held, is slowly becoming my go-to work area. I love Paiko (a DIY succulent bar, coffee shop, and “botanical boutique”) right near all the murals. It’s been the perfect spot to grab a coffee, sit outside, then stroll the murals.

One of my fail safe outfits is a maxi skirt and either crop top or smaller top. It’s easy to throw on and look put together while still feeling comfortable. For those days when I’ll be running around outside in the heat but then have meetings or errands in A/C it’s the best balance of cute and cool. Many days I can leave my house at 7:30 am and not be home till 7:30-8 pm and while the backseat of my car looks like a shoe salon (a girl needs options) I can’t keep my entire closet with me. My maxi skirt collection has definitely tripled since moving here. Throw on a floppy hat, maybe add some fringe, and you can be right out of a Free People catalogue…

H&M Hat/ Vintage Gucci Choker/ American Apparel Crop top (that I happen to own in three colors)/ Anthropologie Skirt/ Coach Tote/ Tiffany & Co Atlas Bracelet (℅)/ hidden flatforms from Nordstrom Rack that I love because they give me a 4″ boost while feeling like squishy pillows on my feet

And there you have it, a skirt that feels like cozying up in your favorite blanket, while still being cute enough that I had two girls stop and ask me if it was a current buy.

PS- I’m strategically attempting to keep myself far, far away from the newly opened Ala Moana Anthropologie. I know the second I walk into that store my credit card will be handed to the sales associate. I am not familiar with the term “window shopping….”

For ladies living in the hot weather, humid ridden climates, listen up: Bare Minerals will be your beauty lifesaver… Well, let’s be real, it doesn’t have to be hot or humid to still bow down to the beauty of Bare Minerals. But, if you do happen to be an island girl like me, prepare to hand over that credit card.

When I lived in New York I worked in an office, had multiple meetings a day, had clients coming through our office. We were expected to always look presentable, plus, I loved getting dressed for work. I would wear a full face of makeup, even down to the eye shadow and eye liner, every day. As soon as I moved to Hawaii however, I would put on my liquid foundation and precisely 3.5 seconds after I walked out the door, my skin felt heavy, thick and well, looked pretty melted. I gave up makeup for awhile but you know, date nights, meetings, coffee dates, you need a little somethin’ somethin’ to wake up your face. Enter Bare Minerals.

I know I’ve talked about using the brand before, but now I’ve become a bit of a devotee, and hoping to expand my collection. In the mean time, I have my go-to’s and continue to replace them any time they get even slightly low. Here are my best of the bests:

Original Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15 in Fairly Light: this was my first Bare Minerals product I’ve tried and I’m now on my third container. Using their brush it’s so easy to get ready, just a little shake, swirl, tap and apply and I’m done. I’m not one for taking a lot time to get ready (I swear, ask my boyfriend) so this is a great way to look put together without looking cake-y. When I’m going somewhere formal or I know I’ll be in photographs I’ll also apply the primer and mineral veil which helps lock in the makeup so it doesn’t slip off and gives almost a photoshop finish to your photos. I wore this combination of primer, foundation, and mineral veil on my brother’s wedding day and I am really happy on how great my makeup looks in photos.

Up next, Faux Tan Face and Ready Bronzer in the Skinny Dip: Faux tan face is a like all hands on deck buy it. Living in the sun 365 days a year I get color on my body even if I’m not laying out at the beach. But I wear sunscreen every single day and hide under a hat as much as possible (no cancer, no wrinkles, please). So my face is naturally paler than my body. A little goes a long way, like a nickel is all you need for your whole face. I put it on before bed and wake up with a sun-touched glow, no streaks, no orange. For more day to day, I love the bronzer powder to apply on my cheekbones, temples and nose. It brightens up my face a bit and still looks natural when paired with the original foundation. Jack pot.

Last, is my newest Bare Minerals acquisition and a sparkly, brightening must-have, the Well-Rested Face & Eye Brightener: I’ve seen a lot of posts on this product on social media so I figured it was time for me to try it out. I love the easy click bottom pen of this creamy solution. I put it on top of my makeup on Valentine’s Day on my cheekbones, inner eyes, brown brown, and cupid’s bow and I loved the dewy without being shiny effect. I felt like I was glowing, a la J.Lo. Also, it definitely gives a little flicker when you put it near your eyes, perfect for a post-work day touch up pre- happy hour!

Ok, now who’s ready to go shopping? I’m really looking forward to trying the complexion rescue, their lash domination, and their Marvelous Moxie lip colors next. But for now, I’ll keep my face Bare with what I’ve got.

On weeknights I’m always looking for something flavorful but super easy to cook. Since I found out I have Celiac I mainly stick to fresh, non-packaged food to ensure I don’t have to worry about hidden ingredients or cross-contamination. Many packaged foods may not contain wheat or gluten in the food, but it could be manufactured in a wheat facility and share equipment and in turn I could end up getting symptoms of being “glutened.”

The one exception is pasta. I cannot give up my pasta, hey, I’m Italian! After much trial and error I finally found an amazing brown rice spaghetti by Tinkyada. It has odd requirements like boiling for 17 minutes, and running over cold water post-cook, but it tastes amazing, and that’s all I need. I saw a recipe online that sounded fresh and delicious while still having the creamy decadence wanted when you indulgence in pasta.

So here goes my gluten-free brown rice spaghetti with lemon ricotta basil sauce…

You’ll need:

– 1 pound pasta
– 2 cups ricotta cheese
– 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
– 2 tsp olive oil, good quality please
– One Lemon, juice and zest
– Salt & Pepper to taste (I use Salty Wahine Hawaiian salt)
– 1/2 cup basil leaves, I use a kitchen scissor to slice thinly

Cook pasta per package instructions.

In a heat safe bowl that fits over the top of the pot, mix together the two cheeses, olive oil, lemon juice, some of the zest (save some for on top), salt & pepper. When the pasta has two minutes remaining on the timer, place the mix in the bowl over the pot and slowly stir the ricotta mixture. The heat from the pasta water will “loosen” the sauce and heat it slightly. The pasta will heat the sauce so don’t let it get too hot.

Drain the pasta, add the sauce and top with basil. And enjoy, hopefully with a large glass of wine!

Recipe from The Kitchn 

Hope you enjoyed my first recipe post, and I can’t wait to share more in the future either home cooked or around Oahu!

Saturday night after a delicious homemade pizza Valentine’s Date, my boyfriend and I headed over to the Honolulu Night Market. The HNL Night Market is an amazing collaboration of local vendors from food, to fashion, to music, and this past Saturday it had a twist. Each year a selected group of artists are brought to Hawaii for Pow Wow Hawaii. These artists are given a wall to paint a mural on, and we as a community are treated to their art for a year until the next round of artists come. This past Saturday was the Pow Wow finale and unveiling of the newest murals.

Of course I planned my next meeting in Kaka’ako in order to see more of the murals post-project. This bear mural by Chad Hasegawa was a favorite right away, for reasons too cheesy to share. I saw it Saturday night and couldn’t wait to come back in the daylight. I absolutely love the Pow Wow project to bring art to a developing community and support the local movement of creativity.

Homecoming Honolulu Sunglasses/ Banana Republic top/ Express skirt/ Tory Burch purse/ BCBG heels/ Alexis Bittar earrings and bracelet

I love a classic black and white outfit. I feel like I have two style speeds: boho beach girl and NY boss lady. I loved my all black attire when I lived in New York and sometimes it feels good to get dressed up, look a little more professional and still have a sense of style. But let’s be real, tomorrow I’ll probably be back to my cut off and kimonos tomorrow…

Note: This is a health and wellness post. Everyday to Runway is primarily a style, beauty, and lifestyle blog but this is an important topic to me and I wanted to share. If you’d like, please feel free to scroll past this post, or come back tomorrow for our more standard content. 

One of the main differences in my health the last year or so, has been the addition of using essential oils. A year ago I had an awful case of bronchitis and needed to travel the next week. Unfortunately due to my allergies I couldn’t take the medicine prescribed. I was pretty miserable until my boyfriend’s sister gave me a bottle of her doTERRA brand essential oil blend called Breathe. It’s a mix of Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Melaleuca (tea tree), Lemon and a few more oils and it instantly opened up my airways. My hacking cough had subsided, my congestion was loosened, and I felt like I could breathe for the first time in days. Best part was, all this happened in 15 minutes. I swear it felt like voodoo magic. She ended up gifting me the rest of her bottle and I can literally say that moment changed my life.

Since then I have expanded my use of oils to help my migraines, insomnia, allergies, anxiety, low energy, preventative measures to avoid colds and flus, sore muscles, or even much simpler things like using Lemon oil to remove that sticky residue that comes from price tags and stickers. Oils can treat jellyfish stings, bug bites, get rid of ants in the house, acne, eczema. It’s amazing the testimonials I’ve read, seen, and even experienced with essential oils.

I have a separate instagram for only my oils (@EOilLo) hence the intro to this video. I like to keep my two passions primarily separate as the audience isn’t usually the same. If you’re interested in getting started with oils I suggest watching this video on the introductory enrollment Family Physician Kit.

You can see more oils and information here: http://mydoterra.com/OilLo, under the shop tab. Note: this is the retail site, not the wholesale site which I have access to or you can sign up for. Prices are 25% cheaper with a wholesale account.

If you want to sign up for doterra, please visit here: http://bit.ly/1GJAB03 I have an amazing team that is so supportive and we would love to have you on our team as well if you’re interested in natural health and essential oils.

(My homemade Breathe rub, a natural version of Vicks Vapor Rub) 

If you want more information:
My instagram- @EOiLLo
My email- EOiLLoHawaii at gmail dot com

I am happy to answer any and all questions regarding oils. I know this is separate from my standard content of fashion and beauty but health and wellness has become just as important to me and I find this necessary to share as well.

I could go on and on about oils but these are the most important things to note:

– I use doTERRA brand oils because after research I believe in the purity. They’re quality oils with no fillers and you can trust them much more than the oils you find on the shelves in stores. I do not buy my oils online because I cannot vouch for their safety, quality, or purity.

– I believe in sharing them with others because of the amazing good they’ve done in my life. I share them because I love them.

Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns I would love to help you try oils or at least learn more about them! They’ve really helped my entire family and I hope they could help yours as well.