Makeup: pinks and purples

 I've been so uninspired by makeup lately.  it used to be I could create a look and happily wear it for a few weeks before I got bored but now I tweak and change everyday and I'm always bored.  But lets face it I haven't been myself at all lately.  I don't know.  Maybe it's my layout change?  i thought it would inspire me to take this blog further but it seems to have had the opposite effect.  If anything I'm closer than ever to abandoning the whole project. 

So here is some makeup I've been playing with using some fresh spring pinks and purples.  I used a pale lilac/grey cream as an all over lid base.  Then I used a icy pale lilac, almost pink, loose powder as an highlighter in the inner corners but also a wee dot in the center of each lid to draw in the light.  Then I used a thin line of eggplant purple cream liner.

I used my favorite blush ever, a natural pink flush on the cheeks and a rosy pink gloss on the lips.

Makeup used : Cream shadow in Gossip, loose shadow in Jelly Roll, and cream liner in Stiletto; all by Benefit.

Benefit powder in Thrrrob and Sally Hansen gloss in Bloom.

Daily Wear: running away with the band

I haven't been around much I know.  I've been working a lot, A LOT and I really feel i have no time for recreation between that and my errands and chores. I've just been way too busy to think about posts or clothes or pictures.  I haven't kept up on the blogs I follow either.

This month, not sure of the date, marks my one year anniversary of keeping this blog.  And I'm wondering if it's worth the bother to continue.  I think I'd feel guilty if I stopped.  And unlikely to ever start it up again.  But while it can be fun for me, it isn't necessary.  There are thousands of indistinguishable blogs out there and I'm not sure I want to contribute to the deluge.

A couple quick pics of my fantasy of running away.  I'm going to Rome and Barcelona in the fall.  Thinking about and planning that are taking up my brief moments of free time.

I don't wear my glasses much here, but I got new ones.

Series: black and white stripes

So, I finally got together my pictures for this series: Black and white stripes!  I even tried to break up the monotony by doing a dress, skirt, and pants look, though all the outfits are really very basic.  I wanted the stripes to be the star so no over accessorizing.

I really loved this chevron striped party dress as it has a nice rockabilly feel.  Alas, I barely got it on and had to smash my breasts down to do it.  As size five B cups want this dress?  It was only worn for the pictures and I had to change to something else the night I wanted to wear it out.....so sad.

I wore the dress with just basic black tights and cute little black and white maryjanes, probably my favorite heels.  I love that it's snug at the breast and waist and flares out in the skirt.

And a back view to see the little bow tied messily in the back.

And here I am being a jerk and jumping on the bed.  I can never get pictures to take right in the bedroom because of the purple walls, I think.  Color adjust just makes things worse. This is a casual look, for going to flea markets in the early hours.

 

Here's a better view to see my red flats. I just wanted a little splash of color.  It's hard to tell  that the tee shirt is striped because the stripes are so tight.  Worn here with a denim skirt and black tights.

Outfit details: Black stripe tee(thrifted); denim mini skirt (Calvin Klein); black tights (Hue); red flats (payless)

And my favorite of the three looks.  This is my cowl neck stripe top worn with sailor cut jeans  and black and white spectator peeptoes.

I went thrifting with my best friend in this and I just felt really comfortable.  I think I'll do this one again, which is rare for me. Usually I just wear things once and no matter how much I love them I just can't stand to look at them again. Maybe it's because I have so many pictures to remind me.

Outfit details: black and white cowl neck top (thrifted); wide leg jeans (style and co); spectator peeptoes (steve madden).

Daily Wear: Ladies Who Lunch

Had a lovely day off with Mum the other day.  My mom doesn't quite live int he same place as I do and we often have conflicting schedules.  So I get to see her about once a month.  And we always get brunch at the same place because we like it and it's my favorite so I go there as much as possible anyway.

I usually try to go out of my way to dress up when she visits which is weird because she's not formal at all.  Sometimes it makes sense if we're going to a play but even if we just get a bite to eat and take a walk or sit in my house and talk, I still try to dress like a "lady".

This usual translates to a kind of retro secretary/librarian look.  Anything fancier ladylike would just be totally out of place, I guess.  So I wore my pink/off white houndstooth skirt and a white blouse with the puffy sleeves and sweet bow at the neck. Then I just through on my black and white spectator heels and sheer nude stalkings.  I felt a little over dressed in a way but I really liked the look.  Everyday is Halloween anyway, so who cares!

Outfit details: pink houndstooth skirt (banana republic); white tieneck blouse (jones collection); black/white spectator peeptoes (steve madden)

Daily Wear: Girly Menswear

I wanted to experiment with some menswear inspired looks with feminine details of course but I went too lady with it.  The only thing menswearish about it are the wide leg pants and corduroy blazer.

I wore the "suit" with a creamy ruffled blouse which in the end felt too prissy.  I would have preferred a plainer blouse or button up.

And then the shoes were dainty heels with little bows when what I really wanted were brogues , spectators with a more solid heel.

I like the purse though.  It ties in all the neutrals I was using.  I'm just disappointed I wasn't more 70s looking.  Oh well! 

outfit details: brown wideleg trousers (Gap)' cream ruffle blouse (forever 21); khaki cord blazer (rue21); colorblock purse (vintage); taupe/tan kitten heels.

Smokey eyes- Grey edition

As you've probably noticed, I'm a wee bit MAC obsessed and I like to pounce on new limited editions when they come out.  I'm doing much better at using restraint and not buying a much of stuff I don't need or even really care for just because it's new and limited edition.  Having said that, I couldn't resist the Liberty of London collection that came out last month with its adorable packaging.  I did however manage to only buy the two things that most appealed to me.  The india ink blue nail polish and the grey shadow.  And once I had a new grey shadow in hand, I knew I'd have to do a smokey eye post.

I created this really easy look by first applying the pale dove grey shadow (satin finish) all over the lid.  I then used a matte black shadow in the outer third of my lid into the crease and up a wee bit.  Lastly I used a black cream liner (you could go thin or thick on this) and then a bit of mascara.

I finished the look with a pink blush, berry lipstain and berry gloss.  Foundation and powder and all that stuff too of course!

This is a paler, day version because I had to go to work after the pics were taken but of course you can dial up the intensity if you like.  I'm trying to practice restraint in creating day appropriate looks and realistic versions of runway makeup but fell free to go wild! 

Makeup details:

eyes:  Benefit creaseless cream liner in Towne Car; Sephora all over color in 91M; MAC's  shadow in Bough Grey; Clinique's High Lengths mascara in Black.

Cheeks and lips: Benefit's Thrrrob powder; Benefit Benetint lip stain; Lancome juicy tube in Berry Bold.

I like doing makeup posts, in part, because you can actually see my eye color. For some reason close-ups don't result in red eye but all of my other photos do resulting in red eye corrector resulting in black eyes.  But I like my real eyes much better.

Daily Wear: Girly Rocker

Rock and Roll is such a classic look to me.  I think it's because black never quite goes out of style.  And we certainly love our icons to be on the rebellious side.  And even though I realize it's actually a classic look, forever on the cutting edge, the very definition of cool....I can't help but feel really uncomfortable playing the part.

I think it's because rock star clothing tends to be tight and shiny and sexy, while I myself am a wallflower.  I don't like sexy looks on myself.  I gravitate toward a sort of vintagey cutesy look.  So every so often, probably once a month, I try to create a rocker look that's a bit more on the girly side. 

And I always fail! haha!

It doesn't help that it makes me strike actual "poses".  awkward, unflattering me! 

This outfit started with the silver brocade tulip skirt.  I knew it has cute rocker girl possibilities and I wanted to try the look without incorporating any pink at all.  I added up zip up legging as much for warmth as the rock factor.  My blouse has a bra hook closure that you can't really see here.  Then of course the most important part was the high heeled ankle boots!

I took a close up of the skirt so you could really see the brocade.  Otherwise it just looks like metallic shiny crap.

Outfit details: silver brocade skirt (angel); black hook blouse (contempo casuals); zip up leggings (pink rose); ankle boots (payless); absinthe necklace (BarkerBell)

Redhead Tribute: Christina Hendricks

So who isn't obsessed with Mad Men? No spoilers here, and please don't tell me anything! I'm not much of a tv watcher and I got in late in the game. I haven't netflixed my way through the series yet. I just felt that Christina Hendricks was a perfect choice for my series of tributes to redheads. She's a lovely woman offscreen of course, but I'd be lying if I didn't say her main appeal to me was her wardrobe on the show.

She defies the rule about redheads not being allowed to wear pink and she's gorgeous in it! This is so va va voom sexy for the workplace but it suits her character completely.

I know she hates her body type being such an issue but she's like the retro kate winslet, being praised for being curvy and not anorexic. I love seeing a sexy sultry curving girl on tv but I agree it's still annoying and wrong to judge someone by their looks one way or the other.

The pinnacle of 60s fashion.

From the red carpet, showing her just as lovely without the red lipstick!

From a magazine photo shoot. Refreshing to see her out of character.

Indecisive Procrastinator

I've been having the hardest time making my mind up lately! About anything! And I'm being really terrible about procrastinating with every little thing. I feel like these problems are linked in some way. Like I can't make a decision because I really don't want to have to do anything.



Procrastination. I still have yet to file my tax returns and I have only, what, three days left? My I.D. (don't drive) expired rendering me unable to buy alcohol or use my debit card in certain establishments. I knew this was happening a month before it expired and yet did nothing. Which is what I did last time it expired. I have issue with getting it renewed because I also need to do the name change on it, from when I got married two years ago! procrastination.... I know they only take check or money orders but I dont do checks and a money order is prepaid and I dont know the cost of renewing and doing a name change, etc so I keep letting it go. I was supposed to do that first thing this morning but it isn't happening and this was like the one day during the week when i might have had time to do it.


Indecision. I can't dress myself anymore. I used to just let instinct take over and lead me through the process but for the first time in my life I have to try on multiple things and I'm never happy with the result. Like in these pictures here where I kept changing the combination.



And I've even been indecisive about where to go on vacation in the fall. I wanted to go to Paris and Brussels but then my husband wasn't into Belgium and I thought September would be too cold for a London/Scotland trip because London was so chilly last year so then we finally came to terms with Paris and Barcelona. But then I couldn't get the time from work that I wanted and now I have to go late september into early october and I felt Paris might not be as enjoyable because i like to spend so much time outdoors. So then it was Barcelona and Naples, Italy because I thought it would be cool to see the isle of Capri and pompeii and it's more southern than Paris so it will be warmer. But then I read a lot about Naples not being so nice and I became paranoid that if it was too cold for beaches I wouldn't have anything else to do. So then we decided on Rome. SIGH!!!!!


Some variation of this outfit I would have worn on vacation to Capri, had I decided to go there!

outfit details: embroidered skirt (thrifted); white t shirt (american apparel); lavender ruffle flats (payless); peach jacket (vintage...came with a dress).

Ethereal Easter Dress

I always seem to be running behind my little self imposed blogging schedule so I always feel stressed and failure-ish. But work has been crazy (both of them) and in general, with some other life stuff, I'm exhausted and stressed pretty much all the time.

So this was my "Easter" dress. We don't celebrate. But usually we seem to go to this vegan place for brunch because before we were dating we went there for an easter brunch and it was the day we realized we both liked each other. We spent that whole day together and it is a very fond memory for us so went again. But they seat you with strangers if you have a small party and I'm really really not good at strangers. So I was mostly silent and irritated and probably came across as a total bitch. Eh.


This is the filmy sheer pink dress form my flapper photos last year. I forgot how low-cut it was! I was going for a kind of ethereal ghost girl vibe but i mostly failed. I think I simply has on too much pastel so I just looked like an Easter egg. I got the theme of sheerness with the dress and the fishnets but it just didn't come together right. I would love to see someone else's ghost girl photos! lol

Outfit details: pink ruffle dress (thrifted); purple fishnets (urban outfitters); cream maryjanes (target); cream headband (forever21); necklace (BarkerBell).

This is a blurry side of of my necklace. It's an old absinthe print.

Side two shows what appears to be devils and demons clutching at the bottle. I guess I know how my ghost girl died. I bought this necklace at The Little Flea, a local flea market that also showcases local artists. I forget the girl's name (i lost her business card!) but I found her etsy site and she makes a ton of jewelry from vintage and recycled parts using everything from old prints to watch parts and Barbie shoes! Please go check her out here.....BarkerBell

April Etsy Finds

I meant to have this up yesterday in case anyone had some pre-Easter jitters and needed a sugar detox internet break. But that may still be the case today. Here are some recent finds in the vintage etsy universe. Enjoy.

Absolutely the best first! seafoam green mid-century danish modern daybed. This would be perfect in any room of my house and I'd put it in my bathroom even if it would fit! By The Vintage Supply Co.



Cool brushed aluminum armchair. It may be pink but appears to be a nice neutral color for any decor, even if it is a pale blush color. By Swankarama.


1930s art deco closet in a lovely white color. Doesn't have to be relegated to a bedroom. Makes a cute coat closet too! By Onlinechic



Frosted glass and aluminum lamps. By Zedandminky



A showplace for your collections. Teak mid century modern bookshelf/storage unit. By designermadness.


Enough fantasy shopping, I need to do some household chores. I'm working on another series and have an Easter dress to take pics of if that's the sort of thing you're into. Probably on Tuesday. See you soon!

Mixing prints- 3 ways!

I was saving this for tomorrow but I couldn't wait! I really like combining prints so I've been experimenting a little and wanted to show you some looks I've come up with. I don't like silly fashion rules and I see no reason to not wear prints together.



This is the first experiment. Really subtle. I kept to the same aqua color palette which I think really worked. It hardly looks mixed at all. I wore this to a lunch out with Mom.




The button up skirt had aqua and black THIN stripes on a white background. The aqua/gold brocade jacket over top has a more open, wide print. I think staying on the same color (aqua) and mixing large and tiny prints makes this work. I kept the rest of the outfit really simple with grey pants.




Outfit details: aqua brocade jacket (H&M); aqua strip shirt (aerpostle); grey skinny pants (urban outfitters); cream maryjane heels (target).


Experiment no# 2. Stripes and plaid. These prints are in a similair porportion but I toned down the mixed print effect by having the purple of the dress surrounded by a lot of black.

This is a strapless dress overtop a striped tee. I wore this to a friend's house for summer weather Coronas.



Outfit details: purple plaid dress (grass); striped tee (H&M)l black tights (hue); black maryjanes (zappos.com)



Experiment no# 3 loud and wild! an geometric art deco print dress with a polka dot jacket. This was completely over the top but the only one of the three I was complimented on, so go figure.


The blue, white, and yellow(lining) of the jacket were repeated in the dress, along with a few other colors. Again, I used neutrals,( in this case brown tights and boots) to tone down the jarring prints. I think i got away with this one only because the jacket was viewed as a warmth-giver, not an outfit-maker.
Outfit details: art deco dress (BGBG); blue polka dot jacket (charter club); brown tights (hue); tall brown boots.


I think this last one was my favorite only because I loved the dress and the way it fit so much.