September 2019 Favorites + Happenings

Face, Fashion, and "Finding Myself"

I started this morning off by reading my favorites post from September of 2016. I was just a fraction of the blogger I am now and yet I see so much similarity in that little voice of mine. I was so excited to hit 1,200 Instagram followers, just discovered Garnier Micellar water, and had thirty comments on the post (oh, how I wish that’s how it was nowadays!). Ironically, favorites are my favorite posts to write. They come easy, thoughts flying onto the computer screen that I didn’t even know I had until I sat down to type. And looking back to little ole McKenzie makes me tear up a little bit— it’s crazy how much has changed over the years and yet how similar our lives still are. 

This month has been a whirlwind for me. I’ve got a whole lot of favorites, goals, and basically an entire college life update coming at ya. I feel like I have grown up so much this last month; I cannot wait to see where the rest of the school year takes me. Anywho, before I spoil any of the fun, let’s hop right on in. 

FASHION

Alright, starting with the fashion favorites. In high school I was accustomed to always being best dressed. Everyone else wore sweatpants while I strutted in the latest trends and my favorite heels. Things are different here. I’m in college so inevitably half the population wears sweatpants and sweatshirts that they wore to bed last night. But I’m at a school where fashion is the dominant major so the other half of the population is compiled of every high school’s “best dressed”. It makes for some super interesting people watching, lol. 

Anywho, I’ve been sticking to my usual style but have really enjoyed seeing and observing everyone else’s. I still get dressed up for classes, wearing bolder things to school on the days I have my fashion classes, and wearing more “normal” things on the days I have my other classes. When going out, I have found myself wearing bodysuits galore, lots of flared jeans and skirts, and my black block heels because my foot can pretty much only handle those shoes for long periods of time or my Palm Beach Sandals— which, by the way, nobody has heard of here in Ohio. Oh well, temps will start cooling down soon so I’m sure my shoe of choice will be changing within the next couple of weeks. 

I had a lot of brand deals going on this month as well so I found myself shooting looks like crazy. It’s been really fun getting to try out different styles and to have my roommates input on what I’m ordering. Here are a few of my favorite looks I’ve styled this month. That SheIn hat had me iffy at first but I’m in love now!

ACCESSORIES

I’ve been on a hair accessory kick for when we go out. Little hair clips, fun hair ties, and cute scrunchies have been my go-to. I find some of the best hair accessories from Romwe but my roommates and I are always borrowing one anothers stuff. It’s been so fun getting to share four closets amongst each other. I haven’t found myself reaching for many colorful statement earrings since I’ve been here and I think it’s because I left a lot of my matching shoes at home… and I’m a super matchy matchy person. Regardless, I’ve been wearing my gold jewelry like crazy and my Fossil watch has been a lifesaver. 

WORKOUT WEAR

For the first time in my life, I have been consistently hitting the gym. It even feels weird to type that, hahah. I’ve found myself really appreciative of that “me” time during the day. I’ve only been sitting on the bike or going on the stair stepper but it’s been making me feel nice and refreshed and is balancing out all the fries I’ve been eating since getting here. I’ve always had a lot of cute workout wear but in all honesty, never wore it for its intended purpose. Here, I’ve been wearing a cute matching set every single day and scoring tons of compliments at the gym. My all time favorite is the orange set from Target. I wish I had picked it up in more colors while it was still in stock! I’ve loved my Lilybod, Yogalicious, and 90 Degree By Reflex as well. My mom got me new New Balance sneakers and brought them when she came to visit. I love the white so much and was so happy to replace my old, dirty ones. They are super comfy and I’m hoping they are on sale in the black version when I go home for fall break! Oh, and cute zip ups to throw over my sports bras are a must. 

BEAUTY

Finally some beauty favorites to share with you all! I’ve discovered a few new favorites since being here that I cannot wait to share with you. 

  • Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask— I got sent this for reviewing purposes and it’s seriously so good. Not only does it smell amazing but it works too. It feels like a very thick Vaseline and makes your lips super glossy. I wear it to bed some nights and during the day if I need a little extra moisture. I’m definitely still a Blistex girl at heart, but this makes for something fun from time to time. 
  • Clean & Clear Lemon Exfoliating Wipes— I feel like my face just cannot get clean here. I’ll remove my makeup and wash my face in the shower and yet I still feel like there’s some leftovers on my face. I’ve been wiping down with one of these after getting out of the shower to remove any excess.
  • Clean & Clear Persa Gel— I’d be lying if I said I had clear skin right now. In fact, my skin has never been worse. A combination of stress, the water here, not eating great, and not drinking enough water has taken a bad toll on my skin and this has been the only product that has kept my skin even remotely under control. I layer this bad boy on after using one of the wipes.
  • Laneige Water Sleeping Mask— I also received this face mask this month and I love it. The persa gel dries out my skin a bit so on the days where I use a lot of that gel, I’ll sleep with this mask on. It feels more like a super thick moisturizer and doesn’t congeal throughout the night like other sleeping masks. Your skin doesn’t feel like it has anything on it when you wake up in the morning, just super soft, but I rinse off anyway since that’s what it says to do. It has been a lifesaver for hydrating my face. The water here has dried it out big time!
  • Healthy Sexy Hair Tri-Wheat Leave-In Conditioner— Emma told me to pick this stuff up and I’ve been loving it so far. You spray it in your hair after the shower and it helps detangle your hair while acting as a leave-in conditioner. It makes my hair feel super soft and nowhere near as dry which is a must!

ENTERTAINMENT

Lol, what is free time?! I’d be lying if I said I watched a single episode of TV this month. I just have not had the chance to even think about starting a show. However, if I’m doing something that doesn’t require much attention, I’ll pop on some YouTube. I haven’t been keeping up with every video, but if I have a chance I’ll pop on some Gretchen, Brooke, Danielle, or Keaton to keep me company. My roommate Emma isn’t a big country girl so whenever she’s in class I’ll put on some music— Cowboy Hat by Jon Pardi has been my absolute jam this month!

LOOKING BACK ON SEPTEMBER

In September I decided to focus more on content rather than numbers and that worked out really well for me. I was able to post four times a week every single week (yay!) and posted at least twice a week on my YouTube channel as well. I missed a few days on Insta and was bad about Instagram stories. I freelanced like crazy this month too. I’ll be honest, this month was hard for me. I was able to keep up with just about every posting schedule and it felt rewarding as all get out. But I had to bust my butt to do it. However, busting my butt has a) made me feel like a super human and b) really paid off. I’m so proud of myself for balancing school and work and getting to do things 2016 McKenz couldn’t even dream of. This month has made me realize why I love what I do so much and has showed me a completely different side of the hustle. I feel like year four of StyledbyMcKenz has been such a period of growth for me and I’m ready to end with a bang. 

LOOKING AHEAD TO OCTOBER

Although numbers aren’t everything, they are something and that’s hard to ignore. I’m not going to set number goals for the month because I know I will drive myself crazy but I really want to put some in place for the end of the year so here we go: 1,000 YouTube subscribers and 6,000 Instagram followers. That last one is kind of a stretch but it would be really awesome if I could go out on a good note. We will see. For the rest of October, I really want to keep up with that same four times a week posting schedule. It wasn’t too much but it wasn’t too little either. It was a good happy-medium for me this last month and I want to see if I can keep it going. I really want to be better about talking on my Instagram stories each day and have my fingers crossed that I can maintain this freelancing lifestyle because it’s showing me the ins and outs of the influencing industry. And my last goal is to love what I do wholeheartedly the way I did this past month. 

MY MONTH AT A GLANCE

Life has changed so much in this last month. My August month at a glance was tricky because I was home finishing up summer for the first half, and adjusting to college life in the second half of the month. However, this month it’s been just me here in Ohio, living life as a college student. I’ve been getting so many questions and don’t worry, a q&a will be coming your way soon but it’s time for a little bit of a life update. 

For those of you who don’t know, I am a Fashion Merchandising and Journalism major here at Kent State University and I absolutely love it. I was not super excited to move to Ohio and I came into college with very few exceptions. So far, college has treated me really well. I have felt so independent being away from home. There are things like laundry, dishes, and trash that need to be done without anyone reminding you to do so. You are responsible for everything and anything— it’s surprisingly been really refreshing for me and I feel like I’ve done a really good job staying on top of all the responsibilities that aren’t school related.

For the first time in forever, I feel like I have a really solid group of girls around me. I wasn’t a girls girl in high school so it’s been cool getting to meet so many different people here. My roommates are so awesome and living with Emma has gone so great so far. I love my classes and am doing really well in them as of right now. They aren’t a lot of studying per say but they are definitely creatively challenging which has been different than I intended. I’m doing a lot of writing and typing papers but so far it’s been work that I do not dread. Balancing school and work hasn’t been too terrible and thankfully with Sophie here, finding someone to take my photos hasn’t been nearly as big of a struggle as I expected. It’s definitely been a big commitment but I’m really grateful that I am able to do both. 

I’ve been hitting the gym almost every day and taking care of my body which has felt awesome and really given me time to clear my head. The hardest adjustment has been not having solid guy friends here. At home I had tons thanks to baseball and it has definitely been weird not having them by my side here. I know that they will come with time. There have been so many more good times than bad but I won’t lie— I have hard days here too. The kind where I need to call my mom and cry to her on the phone. The kind where I am so desperate for thirty minutes to sit and do nothing. The kind where I wish I could go home and eat dinner with my family for just one night. But that’s normal, or so I am told. I got to spend homecoming weekend with my parents which was super fun and next Wednesday I’ll be headed back home for a few days to spend fall break in Maryland. I’m excited to relax in my own space.

I’m a Pink Campus Rep and a Bumble Media Manager here so I’m definitely being kept on my toes. Sorority recruitment started this past weekend and I’ll go through the next rounds at the end of this week. I’m so excited and hope that I can find a home away from home. It’s been a crazy exciting, stressful, overwhelming, exciting month here in Ohio and I am so glad that I am adjusting so well. I have received an abundance of sweet messages from you guys as I adjust and I cannot thank you enough for keeping me in your thoughts throughout this season of life. It means so much having you all along for the ride. Here’s to a (hopefully) just as fantastic October. 

With love, McKenz 

THIS MONTH ON STYLEDBYMCKENZ

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