Currently Craving: Pastel Polishes

Butter London Teddy Girl Nail Lacquer // POP Beauty Lavender Love Nail Polish // Deborah Lippmann Build Me Up Buttercup Nail Color // essie Resort Fling Nail Polish // NCLA Santa Monica Shore Thing Nail Polish  

It's finally starting to feel like spring in the Northeast, and I'm so ready. Winter is actually my favorite season, but my first winter in Boston has been rough. Typically, I'm by the books when it comes to my nails. Dark shades in the fall and winter, light shades in the spring, and bright shades for summer. It's my favorite time of year for nail polishes and I'm ready to break out my personal favorites.

Shop my suggestions above for springtime ready nails.

Review: The Handle Bar in Boston, MA

The Handle Bar is an indoor cycling studio with two locations in Boston, MA. I headed to the newly opened Fenway location, located at 1330 Boylston Street for a 10am class yesterday morning.

Jess Bashelor, Founder of The Handle Bar was the keynote speaker at the Her Campus National Pre-Collegiette Conference on Saturday where I was a panelist, hence the partnership and reason I was able to attend this class.

They hooked me up with special biking shoes ($2 per rental) and I headed in to set my self up on a bike. My instructor Sarah was great and knew it was my first time so she helped me adjust my bike to the right settings for me. The studio is kept pretty dark which is great because it really gets you in the mood with the music to go your hardest.

During the workout, the instructor matches the moves to the music, with a playlist including Beyonce, Iggy Azalea, Britney Spears, and more! As the workout comes to a close the red overhead lighting is switched to a more calm shade of blue as the music slows down. You definitely get an intense workout, but I surprisingly was not sore afterwards because I made sure to stretch ahead of time and our instructor had us stretch after the bikes.

Typically at the larger South Boston location which is two years old, five classes are offered daily, and at the thee week old Fenway location, currently four classes are available daily, but they fill up quickly. Each class is $20 and shoe rental is $2 per ride. Package deals are available if you're really hooked!

They also run an awesome blog which I would recommend checking out. It includes playlists that you might spin to in class, healthy snack ideas, fitness tips, and more.

I would definitely recommend going to The Handle Bar if you're in the Boston area and looking for a fun workout. Make a reservation for your bike up to 7 days in advance online, in person, or over the phone.

Her Campus partnered with The Handle Bar to provide panelists and attendees of the Her Campus National Pre-Collegiette Conference (which I spoke at this weekend) with a free class, but that in no way alters my opinion.

photo credits: northeastern.edu

The Handle Bar

Beauty Sales Week of April 27th

Gilt:

• Spring Makeover: Top Picks for Flawless Skin (Sale begins Noon ET 4/29)
• Spring Makeover: Top Picks for Hair & Cosmetics Essentials (Sale begins Noon ET 5/2)
• The Ultimate Spring Makeover (Sale begins Noon ET 5/3)

HauteLook:

• Perricone MD, Lightning Whitening (Sales begin 8am PT 4/27)
• Hair Tools Blowout (Sales begin 4pm PT 4/27)
• nailuv Gel Nails, Vincent Longo Cosmetics (Sales begin 8am PT 4/28)
• Josie Maran, TEI Spa (Sales begin 8am PT 4/29)
• Hairdo Hair Extensions, Oscar Blandi Haircare, SPAfrica Skincare (Sales begin 8am PT 4/30)
• Beauty's Most Wanted, Vivo Per Lei Diamond Skincare (Sales begin 8am PT 5/1)
• NuTika Hair Tools (Sale begins 8am PT 5/2)
• Bioelements Skincare, Smileactives (Sales begin 8am PT 5/3)

MYHABIT:

• $39 & Under: Beauty Essentials (Sale begins 9am PT 4/27)
• A Garden Party: Beauty Essentials (Sale begins 9am PT 4/28)
• Luxe Skincare Feat. Clarins (Sale begins 9am PT 4/29)
• Fragrance Gifts For Her (Sale begins 9am PT 5/2)
• Pamper Her: Slippers & Spa Products (Sale begins 9am PT 5/3)

Rue La La:

• butter LONDON (Sale begins 11am ET 4/28)
• Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare (Sale begins 11am ET 5/1)

Link Love: April 20-26

Advice! Tips on How To Save Money Living in NYC (or any city) [Katie's Bliss]


9 Perfect Light Jackets For The Perfect Date [The Gloss]

Grace Coddington on Nudes and Being a Hoarder [Wall Street Journal]

Instagram Insights [Cupcakes & Cashmere]

Rotisserie Chicken Naan Pizza with Spinach, Queso Fresco, & Fire-Roasted Tomato-Mango Chutney Sauce [Ambitious Kitchen]

The Women of Netflix are Upending Business as Usual in Hollywood [Marie Claire]

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things: April 2014

Partition by Beyoncé // TRESemmé 7 Day Keratin Heat Activated Treatment // The SFP LookBook: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014 Collections // Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy La Fleur // Always Dailies Sheer Liners // Cambridge Satchel Comapany Mini Classic Satchel // Watermelon

Partition by Beyoncé: If you haven't heard Beyonce's latest album (are you living under a rock?) this is the song I would recommend everyone listen to. It's super catchy and makes you feel Sasha Fierce.

TRESemmé 7 Day Keratin Heat Activated Treatment: I used up a sample of this throughout the month, and I can definitely see myself purchasing this once I use up my other hair oil. This left my hair super silky and really cut down on the amount of fly-aways, even on the second day!

The SFP LookBook: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014 Collections (℅): This is the latest book from Schiffer Publishing and it's a must-have for fashionistas looking to the runway for inspiration this spring. It includes glossy photos of over 125 designers seen at Fashion Week.

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy La Fleur: I recently purchased a sample duo of this scent along with the original Viva La Juicy which I recently finished up. I'm loving this fresh scent for spring along with it's classic counterpart.

Always Dailies Sheer Liners (℅): Always recently sent me their Spring mailer including their newest product, the Dailies Sheer Liners. They come in convenient purse packs so they're easy to put into your purse (like my new summer bag, see below!) and with their thin and seamless design, you might forget you're wearing a liner. They offer no feel protection and keep you fresh all day long, not just at that time of the month!

Cambridge Satchel Comapany Mini Classic Satchel (℅): I was recently gifted this by Always and I can't stop wearing it! Granted I do get stares from some people on the streets of Boston for carrying a neon pink bag, but I can tell this will be my summer go-to purse.

Watermelon: I've never been much of a fruit eater but I've recently fallen back in love. I'm trying to get at least two servings of fruit per day and I'm loving the seasonal sweetness of watermelon.

Tomorrow is the Her Campus Pre-Collegiette Conference at Northeastern University in Boston, and I couldn't be more excited to be a panelist! The conference is targeted towards high school girls eager to learn more from real collegiettes all about college. If you're attending, I'd love to meet you- I'll be speaking on the Roommates and College Academic Panels (it's my first time speaking on panels so I'm a little nervous!) and walking in the Collegiette Fashion Show at the end of the day. Follow me on twitter and instagram for updates throughout the day and search #HStoHC on social media for more!

Spring 2014 Trend Report: Mules

Olivia Newton John as Sandy (1978) // Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw (2000) // 10 Crosby Derek Lam S/S 2014 Collection (2014)

In the early 1950s, Marilyn Monroe popularized the mule and it experienced a lot of popularity throughout the 50s and 60s. It re-emerged in the 90s in open-toed form, the "slide," and emerged on the September 2013 runways once again in many designers Spring/Summer 2014 Collections.

Here are a few of my top mule picks.

French Connecrtion 'Randy' // Vince Camuto 'Jaso' // Jeffrey Campbell 'Druid' // Sergio Rossi 'Norma J.' // 10 Crosby Derek Lam 'Katy' // Stuart Weitzman 'Herenow'

Sponsored: BIC 4-Color Pen

This post brought to you by BIC 4-Color pen. All opinions are 100% mine.

With exams coming up for many college students like myself, it’s time to start studying. Personally, I’m a big fan of my colored pens, it makes me stand out from a sea of black pens and boring pencils and makes some of my more boring classes a little more enjoyable. BIC® is bringing back inspiration to the everyday with their 4-Color™ pen.

As part of their ad campaign, they’ve given each of the 4 Inseparable Colors in 1 Pen their own unique personality. You can watch the colors in the videos below that really show off their personalities, and also by following BIC® on Facebook and Twitter for more fun aspects of the campaign like giveaways!

Blue is the superstar, Green is jealous, black is the brooding brother to blue, and then there’s red.

I’m definitely red! Red “likes it when things are correct. When matches are parallel and books are well aligned on a shelf. His favorite moment of the day? When it is 11:11 sharp on his digital watch. His passion in life? He has many: spelling, grammar, conjugation, calculation.”

You know you want one of these for yourself, so swing by Amazon or Staples to get your own 4-Color™ Pen!