1 #GLAMWeekly

#GLAMWeekly | Version 4

Oh So Glam Dining Room

Happy Friday everyone!  I’m extra excited about this weekend because I’m hosting a girl’s weekend with my college friends — you may remember last weekend together here, and it’s the Super Bowl!  I’ve been saving all your questions from the past week and am rounding them up again today — make sure to check out the past GLAM Weekly editions here, here, and here!

I love the look of your Paige jeans with the uneven hem but need a more affordable option!  Do you have any suggestions?

There’s actually a ton of great options under $100 (and even under $50) for similar style jeans!  I love pairing these with ankle boots as you’ve seen here and here, but can’t wait to style these with platform wedges in the spring!

I’m debating between whether or not to hire a videographer for my wedding — any thoughts?!

If you can make it work within your budget, go for it!  I actually asked a bunch of brides if  there was anything they regretted NOT having at their wedding and a majority said a videographer — so I made sure to hire one and am so glad I did!  Even if you can just pay for a highlight video (and not the full blown day-of coverage), it’ll be worth it — we actually have both and have yet to watch the full-length version!  Raja said he’s holding off until our 20th anniversary, haha!  You can see ours at the end of this post!

What’s the difference between #ad on one of your Instagram photos vs. other photos?  Aren’t you always promoting something?

I’ve debating getting into the nitty-gritty of blogging here over the years — I’m not even sure if a majority of you care how it all works behind the scenes, but I’ve definitely been getting these types of questions on the regular.  When I post #ad within the caption of a photo, a brand has paid me to use one (or more) of their products and style that photo.  I’m required by law to tell you that, which is why including the hashtag AD (for advertisement) is necessary.  Unless I include #ad or #sponsored on the photo, I was not paid directly for that photo.  Although I’m usually promoting an outfit that I featured on the blog, telling you about a beauty product or somewhere I’m traveling, or sharing something on sale, it’s actually not considered an advertisement (unless I work with the actual brand on creating a collaboration).

I’ve been making sure to note all of your questions that I seem to get asked a lot and have been keeping them in mind for future posts.  I would love to share with you a bit about blogging behind-the-scenes and have been rounding up topics and questions that might be of interest to anyone who wants to start a blog, is a newbie blogger, or just anyone interested in the topic!  I also have a post on purchasing and caring for designer handbags in the works due to the followup questions based off my first GLAM Weekly earlier this month!

How do you edit your photos?  What apps do you use?

Another very popular question I get asked about every single week!  I use Lightroom for my blog photos (I pay about $10 a month) and use it to brighten, adjust warmth, edit certain areas of the photo, and/or apply contrast.   I also bought a few different pre-sets that I apply over the photo so that no matter the lighting conditions/backgrounds, all my photos have a similar look and feel.  I love brighter, more airy photos, so I purchased Mastin Labs presets and have been using them for the past year and a half.  I’ve also heard amazing things about Dreamy Presets!

For Instagram, I actually use the Mastin Labs app that came out back in November and LOVE it because now my blog photos and Instagram photos all have the same filter.  I love everything about this app, it makes editing them the way I like a complete breeze and I can achieve the look in just a few clicks.  If a photo I’m working with has terrible lighting, I sometimes start it off in Snapseed — I love this app because of the ‘select tool’ which easily lets you edit certain areas of the photo (i.e. de-saturating the background, or darkening my shirt).  I also love Facetune — although I rarely use it for my face!  It’s an amazing tool for removing wrinkles out of clothes (this is a SEVERE pet peeve of mine that a lot of bloggers miss) or spot removal (I live with a white cat, so sometimes I need to remove a stray white hair on my black jeans… or 27).  I also love to apply the “detail” tool over the fray on my jeans or prints on a blouse so certain parts of the photo pop.  The whitening tool is also amazing for shooting indoors — it helps remove shadows on the wall or furniture!

I’m working on putting a video together to show you the exact step-by-step process of editing my photos for Instagram, so stay tuned!

I know the athleisure trend is so big right now but everything is SO expensive.  Are any leggings worth $100?

I’m with you, girl… I’m actually someone who DOES NOT splurge on every piece of workout gear.  It’s actually funny that workout leggings can cost as much as JEANS!  A favorite workout brand of mine is Fabletics — they are way more affordable and the quality is amazing for the price point.  They actually now have the option to check out as a guest (so you don’t even need the monthly membership anymore), but if you’re constantly buying workout gear, the VIP membership is the way to go — you get so many pieces for the same retail price and so many limited time options (right now, it’s $24 for TWO pair of leggings).

To be honest, the ONLY other leggings I have splurged on that I absolutely think are 1000% worth the money are THIS pair from Alo!  And trust me, I’ve splurged on a few others and learned my lesson fast…

I’ve been following your blog since you started!  What has been your favorite post?

This is REALLY tough.  There are definitely a few that stick out to me and they are mostly because of Raja.  He’s been my photographer these past 5 years and sometimes, he just surprises me with his eye.  The first one that immediately jumped out to me was this one that we took in a field behind our house — it was right before our wedding and my little-white-dress collection was at an all-time high!  Even early on with this throwback, he continued to creatively push me — wanting to upgrade our camera and lens for better detail shots (which at the beginning, was my signature).  I also love this post from Cabo, this one was my most-pinned outfit ever, and this was our proposal story!

What is your nighttime skin routine?

I did a skincare post a few weeks back where I talked about my favorite products for both day and night and shared my routine!  I’m linking a few of the nighttime products below!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

1 Comment

  • Reply
    Marina
    February 5, 2017 at 6:10 am

    I love your Glam Weekly Series, it’s very interesting. And of course I love your style, there are not many blogs I follow but I’ve been loving yours ever since your first appearance on LaurenConrad.com.
    Anyway, I’ve noticed you have some very expensive clothes and accessories as well as some items that don’t cost a fortune featured in your posts.
    I was wondering how much you spend on a monthly basis when it comes to fashion? Do you have some kind of budget? An if so, how would one most effectively decide on a persoal fashion-budget?

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