I’ve had a running list in the back of my head of products I’ve never tried but want to. Here they are.
Dry shampoo. I have very fine straight long hair that gets limp and stringy looking quickly. I dye it so, I don’t like to wash it every day to prevent the blue/black from fading too fast. Every summer the dry shampoos get reviewed and Klorane usually comes out on top. They offer a smaller, less expensive can that I may have to try out.
Tapered curling irons. By twisting your hair along the cone, as opposed to clamping and rolling on a straight barrel, you’re supposed to get more natural looking waves without dented hair and curly ends that give you triangle head. I’ve found two on the market right now.
Conair Infinity You Curl – $40 at Target
R Session Tools Runway Series tapered curling iron – msrp $50 – this product was mentioned in InStyle’s September issue and of course, it’s nowhere to be found. It has a slightly larger barrel, detachable guide, traditional clamp style if you want it, and it gets 50 degrees hotter than the Conair one (better for coarse hair).
Lip Stain. I really need some recommendations since I’m at at total loss. I’m looking for something that has a bit of coverage but not too dark. Just a nice enhancement of my natural lip color that I can put some lip balm over. It also needs to be easy to apply and have staying power. I may give the Maybelline Color Sensational stuff a try.
And something I wanted to try and finally did:
StriVectin skin products. They’re mostly known for their amazing stretch mark potions and thanks to fun Sephora samples, I got a deluxe trial size of StriVectin Sculpting Cream. In a few days, my mom has already told me how great my skin is looking. She used the word “taut” and mentioned my defined cheek bones. I’m going to milk this sample for all it’s worth.
What are you curious to try out?
The Fall magazines have been pushing intense multi-color eyes. When I was younger, I used to play with my eye shadows a lot more than I do now. The raver days were especially nuts and I still hold a special place in my heart for red shadow. It took forever for me to find this Ana Sui shade.
(new packaging)
I have so many colorful eye shadows I never use but I just can’t get rid of it. Who knows when a Halloween costume will call for orange shadow!?
Keiko Lynn just did a colorful eye tutorial you should check out.
It takes way too much time to scan images so, I just photographed the actual magazine pages. You get the gist. Will you be trying any of these looks for a special occasion?
Out of all of these, ^this^ is more of what I do on a semi-regular basis. Just a plain old black smokey eye, with some plum added in, and not so much on the bottom lash line.
Forever devoted to liquid liner, I finally got some gel eyeliner you apply with a brush and I love it. I had a killer coupon for L’Oreal products so I tried the HIP stuff in Eggplant. It doesn’t budge. The brush provided is really stiff though. Just adding a tiny bit of color around your lash line is an easy way to switch things up and it’s a sneaky way to blend in liquid liner mishaps.
I barely follow models these days. They just don’t compare and they have all started to look the same to me when I check out runway photos – uninteresting clothes hangers. I have never been a Kate Moss fan. She really bores me. Of course, I loved all the “supermodels” of our time. Okay as far as newer models go, I love token redhead Karen Elson. That’s about it.
Growing up looking at fashion magazines in the 80s and 90s, I had a few favorite models: Kristen McMennamy, Stella Tennant, Kristy Hume (they have been making a major comeback lately), Nadja Auerman, and Meghan Douglas (all mentioned here). Douglas often gets overlooked for the buxom powerhouse she is. So, here are a few pics to get you feeling nostalgic.
(I tried to cite as many as I could so if you have any credits, please send them my way!)
Meghan Douglas – Vogue Dec 1991 – ahhh, the end of the 80s!
I had this picture on my bedroom wall.
Pretty Women - Vogue UK February 1995 Photo – Mario Testino
Harper’s Bazaar
W April 1995 Photo – Michael Thompson
with Kristen McMennamy – Harper’s Bazaar Feb 1993 Photo: Patrick Demarchelier
in Vivienne Westwood Photo – Andrew MacPherson
Did you have any favorite models growing up? Jen, you’re going to say Stephanie Seymour, right? :)
- The bf and I have been talking about air plants and then I saw these. It’s unanimous. We must have them (or something like them diy style because they’re kinda pricey and that’s how I roll). (from etsy shop Mudpuppy)
- I’ve been playing around with headers for the blog ever since Thesis updated with an easy header uploader. I’ll probably be changing them on the regular since I get bored pretty easily. Also, ever since I downloaded PhotoMix and realized I could add text, I’ve been back to downloading free fonts like a maniac. I had thousands of fonts when I was a teen but lost them all in The Great Crash of 1998. What. A. Dork. (I had +/- 30 pen pals at one time and took my letter writing seriously.) Fontspace is my favorite source for free fonts since they have everything and you can type your own text in and see what it will look like as you browse.
- This great Tom Binns cuff has the lyrics to The Smiths classic song, “How Soon is Now?” engraved on it. Nowhere in the description at Net-A-Porter do they attribute the song. I think they should. (Update – they added the song info! Yay!)
- So, you know the bf’s baby got fried by a roof leak on August 5th… his baby being a 100-lb wall-mounted 50″ flat screen plasma TV that he just bough in May. Well… I calmed him down in the middle of the crisis with the reassurance that we have renter’s insurance. “It’s okay honey! We’re covered! We’re responsible adults and covered our asses!” I filed a claim, the adjuster came out, they contacted the landlord to confirm damage, etc. Everything seemed to be rolling along just fine until a woman called to tell me that because there wasn’t an actual hole in the ROOF, but rather flashing that needed to be re-tarred, we weren’t covered. Okay. What? I lost it. I could feel violent rage surging through every cell in my body. I cut her off and launched into a tirade, “Oh, I get it. This is one of your weaselly loopholes to get out of paying for our damage. Okay well, I need to calm down before we discuss this any further but I can promise you that I will not be renewing our policy with Allstate and I will NEVER seek out your services for any other property I may need insured in the future!” and I hung up on her. The bf and I looked over the policy and there was nothing stating any of this crap. An hour later and I am still vibrating on the inside but I will definitely be calling someone else tomorrow and figuring out this load of total bullshit. (I swear to god, it just never quits!)
This dress, oh man. Straight off the runway and sold out on Net-a-Porter.
I didn’t watch the show but I did check out the pics online after the red carpet was over.
Here are my favorites (via):
Kelly Osbourne in Tony Ward, so so pretty
Maura Tierney in vintage, love that it’s vintage, love that she blends in and everything is so simple
Eva Longoria Parker in Robert Rodriguez
I have two Marimekko pieces… the bf got this shower curtain and piece of fabric for me for X-mas last year. My dad made a wooden panel and it’s hanging in our bedroom. They’ve been around for so long, even my mom had their fabric framed, hanging in her first apartment.
shower curtain
enormous wall hanging
Their Autumn fabrics are now out and I can’t say I like many of them at all for wall hangings, pillows, upholstery, anything. They used to have a lot of variety. You could get these big retro patterns but you could also find an intricate clean repeat. What do you think? I think it looks dingy, boring and old… and not in that good old way.
My mom started working at a bank in downtown Richmond, VA when she was 17 in the early 60s. Check out the pale lips and dark eyes. Love it! She’s on the right in the top pic.
Hope you enjoy one our last weekends of summer!
I used to keep a journal full of cut out pictures of things I saw in magazines and I’ve shared a ton with you in the past. So, what does a grown woman do on a Wednesday night? Well this grown ass woman sat with her September issues spread out, a pair of scissors, a glue stick, paper and a pen. In all the magazines, I honestly didn’t see too many things that I fell in love with. I enjoyed concepts and styling ideas but not many individual items, except for these.
Oh, and I totally ordered the DKNY Pure perfume. I rubbed every last microbe of scent on my wrist off that magazine strip and couldn’t stop smelling myself. So cozy and comforting and sexy. The bf loves it. Part of the profit goes to a microfinance program for vanilla farmers in Uganda as well. I haven’t given up on my beloved Kenzo Amour… it just needs a little rest.
PS- I can’t spell Gabbana obviously
Click for the large version:
A year later, here is a new bag post. This is entirely ridiculous but I will say that I usually don’t apply make-up until I get to my folks’ house in the morning. I do it for both my mom and myself at the same time so the cosmetic bag is always with me. (If you didn’t know already, I’m her primary caregiver as she has M.S.)
Since I got this new Deux Lux bag, which only has one large interior pocket, I had to add the Nick & Nora hula girl bag (I got that thing on clearance at Target years ago). Now all the random things are contained and easier to find.
Here’s everything neat and tidy:
Here’s the product explosion:
- the old wallet finally died so here’s my new one
- pewter flower cosmetic case (a freebie from Sephora) – Hard Candy primer, Bare Minerals powder foundation, brush, liquid foundation, concealer, cream blush, tweezers, clear mascara for my brows, lash comb, mascara, liquid eyeliner, 2 eye shadow brushes, 2 shadows (Lancome, Hard Candy quad), 3 lipsticks, 2 glosses (one not shown), lip liner – oh, and since I took this pick, I switched up the eyeshadow – you haven’t seen the cosmetics I have squirreled away!
- Blackberry phone
- cigarettes and lighter (gross, I know)
- keys (in the front door)
- In the hula pouch – mini hairspray, comb, nail file, pen, mechanical pencil (+ lead and erasers – I am obsessed with quality mechanical pencils), skin serum, hair ties and clips, hand lotion, band-aids, ipod, usb stick
- (usually) a to-do or grocery list
- sometimes my camera, sometimes my laptop squeezed in
It’s amazing how much I can downsize when carrying a clutch and I still manage to stay alive!
Is this ridiculous? What’s in your bag?
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