Beauty Favorites

Whether makeup or skincare, trying out beauty products is definitely a fun experience. With the "discovery" process, I've found new products I love and stuck with old favorites. So, here are the beauty-related items that I keep coming back to:
1. bareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation. Maintaining clear skin is not always an easy process. With blemish-prone skin, I've discovered that foundation can often clog up my pores and make my skin look more uneven. Five or six years ago, I saw my cousin using her bareMinerals starter kit and noticed how amazing her skin looked. I immediately went to the nearest bareMinerals, had my shade matched, and purchased the whole kit (which I would highly recommend). This foundation is hands-down the best foundation I have ever tried. While the coverage is medium-light, it doesn't compromise on uneven skin tone and covering up darks spots.  
2. Kat Von D Tattoo Liner. In my opinion, there are few things that look more flattering on any eye than a classic cat eye. Over the years, I've incorporated it into my daily makeup routine and love how winged liner can transition so well from a day to evening look. Kat Von D's liquid liner pen is fantastic because unlike a lot of liquid liners, the pen applicator makes it easier to have better control with the thinness or thickness of the line. 
3. C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve. This product rules. Its consistency is great, works for any dry spots (I use it mostly for my lips), and smells lovely. I've gone through several lip balms, and I know for a fact that this is a keeper. 
4. Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk. My haircare routine used to involve washing my hair every day, but I cut it down to three times a week (after repeatedly hearing my mother and friends make fun of me for doing so). At first, I had no idea what to do with my hair on days when I did not wash it, but dry shampoo is really a savior. I've tried Batiste, which seems to be the most popular option, but in my opinion, Klorane is where it's at. Their dry shampoo works like magic, so if you're worried about visibly oily hair—fear no more. One thing to be wary of is that if you have dark hair, you really have to brush it out of your hair, otherwise you'll have visible white patches (I obviously speak from experience). 
5. Benefit Roller Lash. Now if there's anything I can claim wholeheartedly, it's that I've been through probably 10 types of mascara, and had not found one that I particularly liked. I have sparse and short lashes, so finding a good mascara has proved to be a challenge. Benefit's Roller Lash is great because it's defining and also curling, which is something that I haven't come across in any other brands. If I ever want a more dramatic look, I put on a coat of Roller Lash and then finish it off with a few coats of their They're Real! mascara (out of the two, I do prefer Roller Lash). 
6. Trish McEvoy 'Intense' Gel Eyeliner Pencil. I love the look of lining the lower waterline. Especially on darker eyes, it adds such a beautiful intensity. Previously, I used eyeliners that were such a pain to apply. It was uncomfortable, since it took a lot of effort to get the actual product on my water line. My mother gave me Trish McEvoy's Gel Eyeliner Pencil, and I'm so glad she did. The formula is spectacular. It glides on without any pressure and is so creamy. I have it in a sparkly black and it's very pigmented, which I love. 
7. bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer. Sometimes, I get lazy with foundation, so this concealer does the trick with covering up "problematic areas". I use it under my eyes and for dark spots and blemishes. This concealer rocks. bareMinerals rocks. 
8. Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Sea Salt Texturizing Spray. My hairstylist recommended this to me when I asked about how I could bring life and volume to my hair. I spritz in this product after I wash it and then blow dry while scrunching. It works super well and enhances my waves nicely. Plus, it smells awesome.
9. benefit Total Moisture Facial Cream. Similarly to my experience with mascara and foundation (and practically everything else), finding the right moisturizer can be a hit and mostly-miss situation. I'm not really sure how I found this mini version of the moisturizer but it's a great way to try it out and see if it works with a specific skin type. This moisturizer has given me clean and glowy skin and just does it's job fantastically.
10. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. Brows are serious business. We all know this. In addition to threading and tweezing, I like to slightly define my eyebrows without overdoing it (since mine are not naturally sparse or thin). The Brow Wiz is great because it fills in lighter spots and really gives my brows a "bang". I also love the wand portion of the pencil, which evens out the product nicely.

Sporty Chic

If you guys have been following any other blogs or keeping a watchful eye over your pinterest style boards, perhaps you have noticed a trend that has been quite prominent for the past few months, known as "sporty chic." Now while this look is certainly not for everyone, it is rather endearing because of the unlikely combination of athletic sneakers dressed up with more put-together, feminine items. Whether with a pair of nikes, a baseball cap, or comfy "joggers", I have to say, I am excited to finally hop on the bandwagon and try this trend out for myself. So let me know, what do you think of this trend, would you sport a sporty chic outfit?

If any of you all need some sporty chic inspiration, I've put together two looks below! Thanks for stopping by :)

Sporty Chic (#1) by lilarpi featuring faux leather pants

Sporty Chic (#2) by lilarpi featuring swarovski crystal jewelry

Resort 2015 (Part I)

Hello everyone!

Summer is officially here, and in the fashion world it means: Resort 2015. Well, there's more to summer than the runway, but the diversity and breadth of this year's resort collection is astonishing. There are so many designers showing their work, that I decided to split my favorites into multiple posts, because of the sheer quantity of designers showcasing. From 60s retro revival to a very quintessential minimalism, one can definitely say that a plethora of styles are covered in this year's resort collection. Follow along with my Pinterest here, to see my coverage of the entire Resort 2015. In any case, here are my Resort 2015 (Part I) favorites:

Diane Von Furstenburg 

Emma Cook

Naeem Khan 

Bibhu Mohapatra 

Elizabeth and James

Monique L'Huillier 

Kate Spade

Barbara Tfank

Alberta Ferretti

My Graduation Picks

Hi Guys!

So we all know that graduation shopping can be rather difficult. If you are currently on the hunt for a perfect graduation dress, I've put together a few of my favorite picks for various budgets. If you are curious on what rules/standards to follow, a good statement to follow would be "classy and fun." In reality, I think that's all you really need to follow. So, here are my current favorites:

Save:

Forever 21 

ModCloth Dress

H&M Dress

Splurge:

TopShop Dress

Lilly Pulitzer Dress

Alice + Olivia Dress

Graduation with Alice + Olivia

I was recently on the hunt for the perfect graduation dress. Truth be told, it is a difficult thing to find the ideal dress to wear. After much hunting around, I found the perfect dress from Alice + Olivia. If you aren't familiar with the brand, it is a treasure trove of fun and feminine clothing with lots of fun patterns. The dress I chose for my graduation is their Pammy dress. It's a super-chic sparkly pencil dress which I can't wait to wear. I plan on accessorizing it with a BaubleBar necklace and  black sandals from H&M. 

Alice + Olivia Pammy Dress (on major sale!)

BaubleBar Midnight Bouquet Necklace

H&M High Heeled Sandals

A Few Words

Well, I am back. That is honestly the best way I can put it. I can put together a list of quite believable excuses, but there are other things that I would like to address. This past month has been quite busy for me--I've been making some decisions regarding future plans for school. It was a stressful time, filled with a lot of thinking, fear, and doubt. I was immersed in emotions that I wasn't quite sure how to respond to them. As I end my final year of high school, there are several questions that have been floating around my mind as of late. "Where will I go to school? What will I major in? What about friends? How on earth am I supposed to start fresh when I haven't done so in such a long time?"

Change is such a frightening thing. So is being faced with choices. For the longest time in my life, I've basically been given a template of things that I know for certain. Everything had been previously written out for me and decided. Now it feels as if I am receiving the opportunity for the first time to make my own choices, and I have no idea how to go about it. 

I'd like to apologize for my absence from Ask Arpana. I had a sort of "blogger's block" where I could not really think of what I wanted to talk about. When I first started AA, I had this vision of making a fashion blog, as style is my passion. As much as I adore fashion, I also have a lot of troubles with blogging. I follow a plethora of several talented style bloggers, and every time I look at a post, I can't help but let my heart sink. I know it seems selfish, but they seem to reach a level of perfection that I don't think I can achieve. Their outfits are perfectly coordinated, their faces are flawless, they are put-together and chic. To be honest, I haven't really reached a consensus with myself, and am so afraid of posting photos of my outfits on the blog. I am fairly self-conscious, and recently I feel as though I've become less confident in who I am as a person. 

Anyways, I know that as all things, achieving confidence is something that takes time to develop. I just wanted to justify (if possible) my absence and notify you all that I will be posting in the future.

Thanks for reading :)

PFW Favorites

Hi everyone,

If you have been wondering where I have been as of late, you won't be surprised to realize that, once again, college is my excuse. I apologize for my lack of punctuality, and hope that it wasn't too much of a wait...

Anyways, it is with a heavy heart that I announce (two weeks later), that Fall 2014 RTW Fashion Week is over. Paris finished off with some amazing designers that were nothing short of impressive. Here are some looks/designers that I particularly liked. My hands-down favorite designer was Valentino, but I thought it might be a little too much to post all the pictures of Valentino's looks on one page :)

Ellie Saab

Valentino

Saint Laurent

Giambattista Valli 

Talbot Runhof 

Victor & Rolf