Meet city gal and Manhattan inhabitant Mariel Mendoza from her blog of the same name! She treats New York City as her personal playground and frequently shares her encounters in the Big Apple with her readers. From series such as “First Look” that cover trends, stores, or new things she tries, to “Cover This” in which she focuses on something special, Mariel is continuously staying in the loop of anything and everything in the city that never sleeps. We’ll call her our personal travel tour guide for the city that we can’t get enough of! We know this gal is one to count on after previously living in Las Vegas — she’s a go-getter for sure. Check out her fabulous blog and some of her style and beauty tips she graciously shared with us below!
Cliché: What are your beauty/fashion routines?
Mariel Mendoza: My beauty routine consists of cleansing, with a face wipe or a cleanser, and doing a swipe of toner. Afterwards, I moisturize under my eyes and around my face and if I plan on going out, this is when I apply moisturizer with SPF. My everyday makeup is fairly light, so I only use Smashbox’s CC cream, a microfinish powder to help mattify my skin, eyeliner and mascara to define my eyes, and a little bit of contouring and blush so I don’t look washed out.
Name the top three products you couldn’t live without this season.
Coconut oil, Lush’s Silky Underwear dusting powder, and Fresh’s Sugar Lip Advanced Therapy. You can literally use coconut oil for anything and I find it to be a great overnight moisturizer for the colder months. Lush’s dusting powders are just awesome because not only do they make my skin soft, they’re great for keeping me dry… especially when I’m all layered up and find myself waiting for a train in the hot subways. Fresh’s Sugar Lip Advanced Therapy seems to be the only lip balm that can really combat my dry and chapped lips.
Any staple items that you think are fall must-haves?
Capes and ponchos are my favorite fall fashion items and every retailer is carrying them this season. Zara has some beautiful ones at the moment but if you have a budget, Forever 21 has cute ponchos for a fraction of the cost.
What’s your number one tip to feeling good in what you’re wearing?
This may seem like a silly thing to consider as a tip, but having clothes that properly fit will make you feel good about what you’re wearing. If you’re wearing poorly fitted clothes, you’re going to find yourself being self conscious about how you look and that will eventually show in photos and your body language. I was actually a victim of this when I had bought a dress that was a size too large and I insisted on wearing it even though the shoulders were large and I constantly had to adjust the straps of the dress from falling off my shoulders. Needless to say, the entire time I was wearing the dress, the only thing I was obsessing about was keeping my straps on my shoulders.
