Recently I traveled to New Orleans and forgot to pack a cross-body bag. All I brought was a dainty straw clutch I'd have to hold in my hands (not practical or useful in the slightest), and my massive laptop tote that's professional and inappropriately large for daytime ...read more
I'm what you might call a pathological people watcher. I might go so far as to call myself a people stalker, with my eyes. I obsessively notice what other people are wearing, and when I've seen something two, three, four times, I realize, "Wow, this thing is really happening"–a ...read more
All things considered, I know a lot about makeup. When I was two years old and could barely speak, my brother asked me on camera what I wanted for Christmas from Santa that year and my response was a stuttered, "Make. Up. And a purple frisbee." The frisbee thing didn't last, but ...read more
The combination of cropped denim (preferably frayed) showcasing a polished shoe isn't particularly new, but my obsession was reawakened over Christmas break when I found myself "Insta-pinning" the look on repeat (on that note, have you guys started using this new feature of ...read more
As I've documented so far in this series, the vast majority of what I'm "into" comes from stimulus–I'm an extremely visual person and get inspired by what I observe and like, whether on Instagram, while shopping, or just out and about in the world. Usually, there's a direct ...read more
I'm generally not an eye shadow girl. I either go out bare-faced and natural (with just serum and some concealer), or cat-eye glam à la Sophia Loren or Eva Mendes (or, recently, with sunset eyes that I achieve using blush). Once a year—always around the holidays—I'd whip out the ...read more
Lately I've been majorly drawn to the color red, which used to be a shade that didn't exist in my wardrobe. I don't know if it's the holiday season or what, but recently it's become my favorite way to stand out. It's clean, classic, chic, and bold. (P.S. - the shirt I'm wearing ...read more
As I detailed here, I'm a beauty junkie, and as soon as I see something in my Instagram feed more than once, I keep my eyes on it (in this case, pun intended) as an up-and-coming trend. Recently I started screenshotting multiple sets of eyes in a stunning sunset palette–some ...read more
I am not a big jewelry person. On the average day, I wear absolutely nothing except my 3 piercings that always stay in my right ear (a tiny gold hoop, tiny diamond stud, and tiny gold conch hoop). Beyond them, my neck, left ear, and fingers are completely bare. When I do wear ...read more
Ever since my friend chose a Disco Christmas theme for her December birthday party, I've had disco on the mind. The market is saturated with sparkly, shiny, festive pieces right now–a combination of multiple trends meeting holiday season–and I can't get enough. What's not to ...read more
There’s something about a white mule, mule-pump, or ankle boot that feels very mod and fresh this season. It’s hard not to immediately think of the swinging ‘60s and a Nancy-Sinatra-meets-Austin-Powers aesthetic. What keeps the white shoe looking current versus costume-y is ...read more
As Emily demonstrated in today's outfit post, there's a major trend happening right now involving socks worn with mules, loafers, heels, sneakers, sandals, and slides. The socks in question aren't mid-calf, they're not knee-high, and they're definitely not the below-the-ankle ...read more
Lately I've been into a trend I'm calling "things with rings." Whether gold, silver, or rose gold; and whether purely decorative or attractively functional by holding together two panels of a skirt or serving as the handles of a purse, a metallic ring adds a touch of sleek ...read more
One of my favorite things about Alina—and something I'm thankful I was able to recognize even in my first interview with her—is her uncanny ability to hone in on cool and interesting items before they become trends. Her consistent track record for forecasting trends includes ...read more
Before I joined the Cupcakes and Cashmere team, I was an editor at the beauty website Byrdie. My job was literally to stay on top of (or, really, ahead of) each and every beauty trend. To do that, I stalked brands', bloggers', and artists's every online move, most of which took ...read more
My weekends are usually a mix of the following: exploring new destinations in L.A. (brunch, museum, art gallery), mild exercise (hiking, walking, shopping—which counts as mild exercise), chilling (straight sitting on the couch watching a new Netflix series, or hanging out with ...read more
When my boyfriend of five years and I broke up last year, I had a lot to consider. We’d lived together, sharing expenses and household purchases, for the previous four years. While much of what we owned would have to be divvied up, the bed was wholly his—a pricey item he’d ...read more
If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, you already know I have a thing for taking photos—of restaurants, my new apartment, and, whenever possible, pugs—so I pretty much flipped when I found out about this digital Polaroid printer. Small enough to toss into a clutch, it ...read more
I knew that the bronze skin of a quintessential California girl in the '70s was my favorite beauty look, but it wasn't until we shot this photo that I realized just how much my makeup reflects that. I have double luminizer, double bronzer, and triple self tanner in a single ...read more
I live alone in the sense that each night, I'm making dinner for just myself. (I have a roommate, who is never home, but who wouldn't affect my single-dinner status even if he was). When it's only you, it's a lot easier to justify a quick meal than it is to cook after a long ...read more
Interview 1: Meeting GeoffreyLocation: Blue BottleDetails: My job interview with Geoffrey fell the day after returning from New York Fashion Week where I was freelancing. We were going to meet at the Blue Bottle coffee shop on Beverly Boulevard, which was the perfect location - ...read more
A few weekends ago, I went to my first wedding of the season - a beautiful outdoor affair in San Luis Obispo. It was on a dreamy ranch and I wore this dress. The only problem was my bag situation. I needed something to hold my essentials (phone, lipstick), but am severely ...read more
How I eat in a week is all dependent on whether I’ve grocery shopped on Sunday or not. When I don’t, it’s kind of a snowball effect of bad choices, calorie-dense options, and spending far too much money per meal (i.e. $17 on one lunch out, instead of spending less than that on ...read more
I am a denim fanatic. In fact, the original angle for this piece was going to be "Alina's Wardrobe Essentials" - except when I went to my closet to pick the top ten items, eight of the pieces ended up being denim. It stands alone as its own category, but when generally assessing ...read more