December 2018 Favorites + Happenings

And just like that, I’m sitting down to write the final favorites post of the year! Where has the time gone?! December flew by as did most months of 2018. It was full of favorites and lots of family time.

Take a seat and get cozy, it’s going to be a long one as we wrap up this month’s favorites + happenings!

Style

This month I had the pleasure of styling so many pretty dresses and coats. All of what’s pictured above is from SheIn which was one of my favorite stores throughout 2018! They have so many awesome pieces for affordable prices which makes their stuff even better. I have several coats from both SheIn and Zaful that I loved throughout the chilly month of December. Paired with an all-black outfit or layered up they make any outfit instantly better. I wore my fair share of pretty dresses this month as well. Nearing the holidays called for so many beauties; I feel so fortunate to be sent so many pretty dresses to style on the blog. Now I just need somewhere to wear them all too! I also had the pleasure of working with Yogalicious this month – a brand I have worn and loved for so long! I was able to choose a couple of new outfits and have loved wearing their leggings this month. The pockets make them even better!

My jewelry fav of the month has got to be my star earrings. They were only $2 on SheIn and I ordered them along with six other pairs over Black Friday. The package arrived early in December and I wore the heck out of all my new fun pairs. Seriously the easiest accessory ever to spice up a look!

Beauty

I’ve got a handful of makeup favorites this month! I shot a lot of extravagant looks this month which called for a little more makeup + the holidays are always fun to get dolled up for! The Lip Sense in Blue Red was my red lip of choice throughout December. I’m not much of a red girl for everyday wear but when shooting for the holidays, I loved the bright pop! Lip Sense stays on for hours and looks so glossy afterward, that it was perfect for the occasion. I skipped eyeshadow quite a few weeks and headed straight for lashes instead. I’ve still been wearing the Ardell 105 Whispies and have been able to reuse the pairs week after week which is the best! I was also super fortunate to land a brand deal with Lancome this month which meant getting to try their new Teint Idole Line! After years of wearing drugstore foundation, I can wholeheartedly say that I understand why so many people have a hard time parting with the high-end stuff. This foundation is amazing! It keeps my face matte for hours, matches my face perfectly, and is super lightweight!

Switched up my skin care this month to the lemon line from Clean and Clear and have been loving it. The lemon scent is to die for and the packaging is the cutest! Two thumbs up on all their new products. The stuff is full of Vitamin C though which tends to dry out the face so I’ve been using a variety of face masks to hydrate my skin and to relax after a long day! The Aveeno line, Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Gel Mask, and Yes To Charcol masks were some of the best.

Faith

Finally made it to church this month! He’s the reason for the season, y’all.

Entertainment

Cheesy Christmas Movies. That’s enough to sum up my month of entertainment. I cannot even begin to tell you how many sappy, cheesy, terrible Hallmark/Lifetime movies I watched this month. Something about me just loves all the Christmas movies. I tended to watch one after school every day while I worked on the next day’s blog post. Talk about multi-tasking, lol!

My school has an hour-long lunch and seniors are allowed to go off campus during that time so I tended to head home for lunch and watched Vlogmas almost every day. This year I kept up with Brooke Miccio, Danielle Carolan, and Gretchen and I’m so glad I did! I love the YouTube world but haven’t had time to keep up with everyone until this month.

My last favorite was podcasts! I’ve never been into them but started listening to Gals On The Go and The Influencer on a whim and have loved both of them. It’s so fun to just listen to someone talk about their day-to-day life while giving tips on growing your business. These are the best to listen to when cleaning up my room or driving!

Also just saw A Star Is Born. 10/10. Loved it. Soundtrack on repeat.

Looking Ahead/Goals

I had the most amazing month as far as StyledbyMcKenz goes. I tried to do Blogmas this year and it sort of worked, sort of failed. I managed to post 3/4 of the month which isn’t too shabby considering I decided to do Blogmas like a week before December whereas my July and August of posting every day took weeks and weeks of preparation. Anywho, I saw a world of growth as far as views and content go which is exactly what I had hoped for. Instagram growth is still chugging along, slowly but surely; I’m hoping to hit 4,000 followers by the end of January!

I took my twentieth brand deal of the year in December which was a huge accomplishment for me. I worked with eight brands in December alone all while staying tried and true to my followers and self. I’ve had the opportunity to work with companies who I genuinely love, buy, and wear from which makes it all even better; there’s truly nothing I promote that I don’t believe in. I cannot wait to see where 2019 takes me as far as collaborations go!

Now is the time where I’d typically sit down and talk about what I want to accomplish throughout the upcoming month but seeing we’re headed into the New Year I’m thinking of doing a separate post about my goals + aspirations for all of 2019!

Life Lately

December absolutely flew by! It was a challenging month as far as school goes but we did publish our second edition of the school’s newspaper which I was pumped about. Winter cheer is in full swing so we’re cheering for lots of basketball and wrestling now. My weekends have been consumed by shooting for the blog and relaxing.

Christmas felt different this year knowing it would be our last December spent entirely at home. It’s weird thinking this time next year Madison and I will be states away living life at college… which brings me to that! I announced this past week that I’m headed to Kent State University next fall to study both Fashion Merchandising and Journalism. I’ve known for a couple of months now but wanted to wait to share with you all. I’ve already found girls to room with and have been pinning up a storm for dorm inspiration. It’s an exciting time of life!

Enjoyed some much-needed family time for the holidays with my grandparents over Christmas and then headed to New York to spend time with my other grandma! We’ve shopped till we dropped. We’re headed home tomorrow and I’m excited to spend some time to myself reflecting on the year and prepping for the New Year!

That’s going to be all for the final favorites post of the year! Thanks for sticking around – it means the world to me. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday weekend.

With love, McKenz

This Month On StyledbyMcKenz

• Three Holiday Inspired Outfits To Wear // First Day of Blogmas
• Weekly Wrap Up #48
• Winter 2018 Trend Forecasting // Three Outfit Ideas To Wear
• Styling My 2018 Black Friday Finds // Three Trendy Outfit Ideas
• The Dress You Need This Holiday Season // Plus Nine Others I’m Loving
• 20 Stocking Stuffer Ideas Under $20
• Weekly Wrap Up #49
• December 2018 Pinterest Outfit Recreations
• Holiday Makeup To Wear Ft. New Lancome Foundation
• What To Wear: Dressing Up For The Holidays
• December Collective Clothing Haul (MDS, SheIn, Zaful, and More!)
• Early Winter Fashion Ft. New Zaful Pieces
• Weekly Wrap Up #50
• Updated Skincare Routine // Clean and Clear Lemon
• Cute New Workout Wear From Yogalicious
• Easy Last Minute Gift Ideas Under $20
• Styling The Travelon Courier Collection
• Weekly Wrap Up #51
• I’m Going to College…
• Top 18 Favorite Outfits Of 2018