May 2020 Favorites + Happenings

Face, Fashion, and ‘Finding’ Myself

Gosh, how is it almost June already? This month has absolutely flown by! I finished up my freshman year of college at the end of April which meant come May 1 I was off the hook to enjoy my summer. Over the last few weeks, I’ve made the transition to working “full time” for myself through Styled by McKenz. It has been such an adjustment but I’m having so much fun curating even more content than I was before and getting to work for myself.

In addition to photographing dozens of outfits, I’ve been able to grow my platforms, take some exciting brand deals, and really connect with others within the industry. I was worried May would be a bust after such an awesome April but it turns out it’s been just as good. I cannot wait to see where June and these next few months of summer take me and Styled by McKenz. Let’s get on with the favorites.

FASHION 

I’ve been continuing getting dressed and ready (pretty much) every day and I’ve got to admit it’s really keeping me on track. Surprisingly, our May was much cooler and rainier than April mixed in with a few super hot days here and there. I’ve been wearing tons of new SheIn pieces all month long as I participated in their ‘SheIn fills your wardrobe monthly’ campaign where I was able to choose 40 new items. These white crop tops were some of my favorites; if I’m not wearing jeans and a tee, I’m wearing a dress or two-piece set so I don’t have to put too much thought into my outfit. This black dress was easily one of the cutest dresses I’ve ever worn. I felt so gorgeous in it all day! I also grabbed this tee shirt dress from Romwe which is too darn cute; I love pairing graphics with fun accessories and mid-shaft boots. These white western-style boots, my white lace-up heels, and my white Plam beach sandals were among my most worn shoes this month! Clearly, I am a sucker for a good white shoe in the summertime.

Madison and I have been on our grind this month cranking out the photoshoots left and right. We’ve been shooting about twice a week and have come up with some of the cutest looks. Come May I tend to start photographing quite a few dresses, this striped one being one of my favorites! However, I’m still sharing my fair share of high waisted mom jeans from Express and cute crop tops from SheIn. I love the contrast between these two styles.

I’ve also fallen completely in love with all things western— belts, fringe, cow print, give it all to me. I am obsessed. Something about this fun trend makes my inner cowgirl want to come out and I can’t lie, I feel as though my personality shines through those few outfits!

ACCESSORIES 

As for accessories, I’ve been sticking to my usuals. Come summertime you can almost always find me in a pair of statement earrings, my gold M necklace, and either my gold Fossil watch or my Mantra Band cuff. I call this my “triple threat” and think this combination is so effortless + it looks good with almost everything I wear. Of course my cowboy hat and straw bags made their fair share of appearances as well this month.

BEAUTY 

  • Tanologist Face Drops: I’ve talked about these tanning drops dozens of times but I’ve reached for them so much this month that I figured they were worth mentioning again. Now that it’s getting warmer and the sun is strong enough to lay out in my swimsuit, I’ve been getting my tan on. However, my face very rarely gets any color so when I’m fresh faced my face literally looks like a ghost next to my deep olive tan everywhere else. I like using these drops every few days to give my face some color.
  • Aloe: Come summertime I tend to do a decent amount of my blog work outside. I like to throw on a swimsuit and get some sun while doing so. I swear by aloe for keeping my skin hydrated and my face clear. Put it in the fridge while you shower; when you take it out after and put it on it will feel so refreshing.
  • Gel Nail Polish Starter Kit: I literally got this gel nail polish starter kit two days ago but I’m including it in this month’s favorites to give you my initial review of it. I grabbed this kit because it was a really good price for everything it came with. It’s a little different than Laurens which I was using while at school but it was still so easy to use. I painted my nails and toes yesterday morning and they turned out so good. I will let you know how well the polish lasts!

ENTERTAINMENT

Last month I was watching so much TV and this month I’ve significantly scaled it back. I’ve been rewatching Friday Night Lights on Amazon Prime and I forgot how good this show is! It’s been about five years since I’ve watched it and yet it’s just as good as I remembered. It reminds me so much of my home and the football town I grew up in.

The reason I haven’t been watching all that much TV is becuase I’ve been listening to so much music this month. I added a bunch of new songs to my Country Jams playlist on Spotify. I am on a major Morgan Wallen and Cody Johnson kick as of lately.

LOOKING BACK ON MAY

In April I made it a goal to hit 10,000 YouTube subscribers in the month of May. I am pleased to announce that Tuesday morning that goal became a reality! It’s hard to believe that ten thousand people have joined me on my YouTube journey, especially after it starting as a casual, “just for fun” outlet for me. On Monday I hit publish on my one thousandth blog post— absolutely unreal!

Other May highlights include: gaining 800 Instagram followers, an amazing month of blog views, finding out I’d be getting my third magazine feature, being interviewed for two different podcasts, and taking a few super exciting brand deals. On June 1 I will celebrate Styled by McKenz’s half birthday and I couldn’t be happier with where I’m at during this mid-year check-in. It has been so special getting to grow alongside you all.

LOOKING AHEAD TO JUNE

June is going to be a crazy busy one for me. My goal is to upload every day of the month to YouTube. I have a feeling this will inevitably lead to me uploading everyday to the blog as well but I don’t want to make any promises so I’m going to see where the days take me. I am hoping to stick to fashion/lifestyle content for my typical posting schedule but come Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I will be chatting about all things college-related. I figured getting a head start on my back to school content would be the most beneficial thing to do for you guys.

More goals for the month include 9K on Instagram, 12K on YouTube, and to double my blog viewers in one month. Go big or go home baby! May was just my warm-up lap; it’s time to hit the ground running! I am so excited to get working and know that this month will pay off big time if I set my mind to it.

MY MONTH AT A GLANCE 

Like I said, school was finished as of May 1 so I’ve spent about 40 hours a week working on blog related stuff since. It’s been keeping me on my toes that’s for sure! Madison and I have had our fair share of photoshoots, have been learning a few Tik-Tok dances, and are soaking up the sun every chance we can get. Maryland is still on lockdown so there hasn’t really been much else to do. We start our summer classes next week which will certainly be an addition to my schedule.

On Thursday we celebrated our 19th birthday which feels so old for some reason, agh! We enjoyed the evening with friends and fam and our quarantine birthday turned out to be not too shabby. I’m currently in Deleware with my second fam spending the weekend with them and enjoying some downtime before a busy month of work begins.

I never imagined that I would enjoy my time in isolation but I have to admit, it’s nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I’m taking advantage of this time at home to dive headfirst into my career and to soak up all the extra time with Madison. I know one day I will look back and a little part of me will miss this time and I think there’s beauty in recognizing that. More than ever this month my heart has felt full and so driven to achieve my dreams! I thank you guys for fueling those desires each and every day.

With love, McKenz

THIS MONTH ON STYLEDBYMCKENZ

  1. SimpleSerenity says:
    May 31, 2020 at 5:13 am

    Oh you had such a lovely month, I hope that June will be even better for you. Honestly May flew by for me super quickly as well. xx

    Reply

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