Southern Belle in Training

Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA

July 10, 2020

#Influenced: Things I've Bought From Bloggers

     I'm very adamant about the fact that I prefer to be called a blogger instead of an influencer, but the truth is that bloggers do have influence! When I discover something I like, I want you to try it and like it too. Whether that's a fashion item, beauty product, travel destination, book to read... etc! 

     But even as a blogger myself, I still find myself influenced by others. There are certain bloggers whose recommendations I really trust and have bought from over the years. Today I thought it would be fun to round-up all of my blogger inspired purchases from recent years!


{Photo originally from this post}

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Blogger Purchases I've Been Influenced By: 

Every blogger ever circa 2014: Gold Anthropologie initial mug - If you were following fashion bloggers on Instagram 5-6 years ago, I know you've seen this mug!! This was definitely one of my first influenced purchases. It seemed like all the cool girls on Instagram had this mug. I bought it on Black Friday in 2014- I think that was actually my first time shopping at Anthro!

Nicholle Sophia: Palm print bathing suit, Ardell magnetic lashes - Niki was my very first friend when I moved to Vermont, and she shares some great and affordable finds on her blog and Instagram. We have very different personal style in some ways- she wears more chic neutrals and you know that I'm all about prints and bright colors! But there are some fashion items she shares that I know I'll love as well. As soon as she posted this chic one-piece bathing suit this winter, I knew that I needed it. And Niki shares great beauty recommendations- I've been using these magnetic eyelashes for over two years now that I found through her!

Southern Curls and Pearls:  Tory Burch shoes, T3 curling wand - If you are a blogger yourself or enjoy following bloggers... who hasn't been influenced at some point by Caitlin, aka @cmcoving? 😊(I've been following her since she had blond hair so that's how I know it's been a very long time!) Caitlin's style has influenced mine a lot, but the two main things I've been specifically influenced by are Tory Burch shoes and her T3 curling wand. When I was a freshman and sophomore in college, Caitlin's style was a bit more preppy, and she wore her Tory Burch riding boots, Miller sandals and Minnie flats with everything on her blog. I started saving up paychecks from my summer job, and got my first pair of TB riding boots in the NSale in 2014! It's taken me awhile to build up my own Tory Burch shoe collection, but I now own a second pair of riding boots in another color, as well as pairs of the Miller and Minnie styles, and I adore them all.
    And is Caitlin not #HairGoals with those gorgeous long curls?! As soon as she started sharing about her love of the T3 curling wand years ago, I added it to my Christmas wishlist. My parents kindly got it for me in 2016, and I've used it multiple times a week since then. It's an expensive hair tool but has held up incredibly well for the amount of years I've had it and use its gotten.
     One last Caitlin inspired purchase that I didn't end up loving though were these AGolde shorts. Caitlin wears them all the time and raves about them. I ordered them this spring but didn't personally love the color in person or how they looked on me. Ah well!
   
Chronicles of Frivolity:  Hollis makeup bags, Amazon black leggings - If there was one blogger I want to be when I grow up, it has to be Katey McFarlan. She's gorgeous, has a heart of gold, the cutest Texan accent, the most fun and glam sense of style... I could go on! Safe to say I'm an unashamed fangirl. Anyways, Katey always shares the best finds for fashion, beauty and home, but here are a couple of my favorites that she's influenced me to buy! I am obsessed with my Hollis travel makeup bag set. These bags are so cute looking, durable for travel, and most importantly easy to clean! Sadly due to COVID-19 I haven't been able to take them on any big trips yet, but I have taken them on weekend trips and they're so great! Would make a great gift too.
     Katey also influenced me to get these classic black leggings from Amazon. They're so comfortable and slimming! They're made of a thicker material so they're not my favorite for summer workouts, but they're great for winter and work as both workout leggings or athleisure pants.

Thrifty Pineapple:  J. Crew Factory skinny jeansHarper Wilde bra - Angela from The Thrifty Pineapple is someone that I've followed for years, but it's just in the last year or two that I've really started getting into her blog. We have similar style and shop many of the same stores, so if you like my fashion I guarantee you'll love hers! I appreciate how many affordable finds Angela always shares. Thanks to Angela I found my favorite-ever pair of white skinny jeans! They're so comfortable and normally on sale- right now there's a crazy good discount on them.
    I also learned about the e-commerce bra company Harper Wilde from Angela after she reviewed some of their styles! While I didn't purchase the same ones she had, this did inspire me to try Harper Wilde, and I got their strapless bra which I really like.

Something Delightful: Lilly Pulitzer everything, Jack Rogers - I was absolutely obsessed with Rachel's blog (called A Preppy State of Mind at the time) my first two years of blogging. Rachel is a big part of the reason why I was inspired to join Alpha Delta Pi my sophomore year in college, and I loved her style at the time! I bought my first Lilly dress at the end of my first semester of college, and a big part of that is because I loved Rachel's blog posts styling her Lilly so much. I had heard of Lilly Pulitzer before blogging/college, but it wasn't until I saw how cute Rachel made her Lilly outfits that I was like "I NEED THIS"- haha! Now years later it is safe to say I'm Lilly obsessed.
     Rachel is also how I discovered Jack Rogers sandals! I considered myself sort of preppy in high school, but at the time Jacks just weren't very popular in New England back then like they were in the South, so I hadn't heard of them.

Lonestar Southern: White sneakers {similar linked} - Kate is another blogger whose style I just love! I feel like fashion-wise she's a cross between Caitlin and Katey, both mentioned above. Kate wears a lot of my favorite preppy brands and always looks beautiful! (She's also so fun to follow and I love how open she is about faith.) The best purchase Kate inspired me to make was a pair cute white sneakers last year! They're a great option for getting on the white sneaker trend without the investment of shoes like Golden Goose. I wear mine often! Sadly the pair Kate had aren't available anymore, but these are similar in look and price to hers.

A Byers Guide: Loeffler Randall mule dupes - Courtney is such a sweet online friend that I've made through blogging! We have very similar style and even own a few of the same things. If Courtney wears and shares about something, I'll generally love it. When she posted about these Loeffler Randall mule dupes last year, I ordered them almost immediately! I love the look of the real designer version, but they're way out of my budget for how much I'd wear them. This dupe version is truly such a steal and looks very similar to the real shoe. They're also comfy to walk in!

Heather Bien: ImPRESS nails - This might be tied with Lilly Pulitzer for the best thing I've ever been influenced for. Heather writes one of my favorite blogs, and she's someone whose recommendations I strongly trust. When she first reviewed ImPRESS press-on nails last fall, I thought it was too good to be true. There's no way that a drugstore product could beat what I went to nail salons for. But low and behold... it did! I love ImPRESS nails so much that I've stopped going to nail salons entirely, written a blog post all about my love of them, and tried to influence every friend I know to try them. All thanks to Heather!

Natalie Kennedy:  Living Proof hair volume product - Natalie's hair always looks phenomenal on Instagram, and I was excited to see on IG Stories one day when she shared her favorite volume product! I picked some up to try in the last Sephora sale. My hair holds a curl well on the bottom half, but I really struggle with getting volume and body up top. This product has definitely been helping for sure! It's easily buildable, and I also like the scent.

Covering the Bases:  J. Crew Factory heeled sandals - Krista's blog is another favorite of mine. I love how "real" she keeps it, and she's another one I definitely trust for recommendations. Krista raved about these sandals all last spring and summer, so I finally got a pair and also fell in love! This year they've brought them back in a slightly different design, but it's essentially still the same shoe. They also go on sale often!


     Now I want to hear from you- what bloggers (or Youtubers) have influenced you to make purchases? Did the actual item turn out to be as awesome as you hoped? Let me know in the comments!


     God Bless,


     xoxo Annaliese


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5 comments

  1. This was such a fun post! I love seeing how you've been "influenced" and what pieces lived up to the hype!

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  2. I love this idea for a post! I am so glad you snagged those white jeans! I can't believe the quality for the price! Also I have the Harper Wilde strapless bra and love it too! It's the only strapless bra that is actually comfortable and I don't have to constantly be adjusting it!

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  3. I feel like I've definitely been "influenced" to buy leggings! This is such a cool post.
    - Gigi
    studyinglifewithgigi.com

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  4. Oh my goodness I am so honored to be included on this list. I totally have that mug you’re talking about and I’ve been influenced by so many of these ladies too and you included.

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  5. Also I 100% agree with preferring to be called a blogger.

    ReplyDelete

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