ICED MOCHA (& BEING A BITCH)

Have you noticed (how have you not noticed?) the surplus of 90s trends flooding the internet, shops, and the sidewalks of your basic-ass town?  Something has to be done.  I'm all for the 90s,  i'm a child of the year of 1991, and I can relate.  But there's this thing about fashion...it is supposed to (at least, in my eyes...and i believe those of the "higher ups") be forever changing. 

 Fashion reverts back to decades past  ALL THE TIME... and I'm not trying to be oblivious to this fact when we talk about the 90s resurgence.  However,  maybe this is the first time I've come in contact with a reoccuring trend in the span on my 23 years.  This must be how my mom felt when i started wearing flare-leg jeans in 1999.  It's confusing.  But, for any trend to continue for more than the brief span many microtrends now-a-days incur, they need to be trends of the past...reconsidered in their current time and place.  Honestly, if I see you wearing jelly shoes that look EXACTLY like the ones I had when i was 6, I'm gonna throw a shade fit...and to be honest (i've been there) you're going to regret your decisions almost immediately...so stop wasting your hard earned daddy's money.  (wow, I'm a bitch today!)

But there are some small, less obvious things I think we should embrace--

My vote is on brown lipstick.  You know exactly what I'm talking about when i say this because of Rachel from Friends, Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman...pretty much every movie or show then.  It's brown or a brownish-red, every time.

In the early 2000s I think things got more metallic (I can't say for sure because I was like 10, I only liked blue eyeshadow or something).  But  I came upon a perfectly brown and metallic mix a while back-- Iced Mocha by Revlon.  I don't think they've changed the color since the 90s to be honest...but in this case... IT IS OKAY*!*!

So I hope you take this post with a grain of salt.  I'm mostly afraid of how easily the mass-markets suck us into buying these "trendy" things because they know it works (and I'll admit again, I've been caught red-handed more than a share of times), and especially with people of my generation right now.  But I get it,  I just wanna be a Pretty Woman, too.  So sit down and drink an iced mocha before you decide on whether you want that "urban renewal" piece.

X0X0

R U TRENDING?

R U THE TRENDIEST BITCH THAT U KNOW?

no, that's me
<3

But you can be the trendiest bitch that other people know (if they don't know me)

HOW?

~* TreNdY mAkEuP iS tHe KeY *~

You know I have been on that orange lipstick grind forever now (with no intent to stop even if it stops being trendy, i love it so) but I am always still trying to find something new and exciting.  I mean GAWWD, looking at my same face every day is such a bore I can't do it.

So when I saw images the day following the Chanel Couture S/S 14 show, I about cried.  Then I fixed my makeup.

hello.

um.

hi.

yes.

So I put it off recreating this look for a while because (strangely) I did not pack glitter in the suitcase I still live out of.  Finally, after being emotionally scarred-- realizing the shade of foundation I've been using for 2+ years is no longer in production...I BOUGHT MYSELF A FEW NICE THINGS-- LIKE--

You know what's great?  NYX brand is actually pretty great.  Now that its at most Targets too, that is great 4 us rural folk who don't have Sephoras/Ultas/etc but wanna be bEaUtiFuL, too!

SO WHEN I GOT HOME I WAS LIKE

NOW WHAT

~ because to be honest-- I look pretty plain without dark eyeliner on my top lids, and for 3 seconds I began to regret my purchase ~

then i remembered the Chanel Couture makeup look 

then i failed a few times and burned my eyes with glitter

then i cried happy tears when i looked in the mirror

I LOOKED LIKE A BOSS

I FELT LIKE A BOSS

I BECAME THE BOSS AND TOOK ALL YOUR $$$

My version is a lot more subtle than the Chanel couture version, obviously!  But I think it still works well and isn't overwhelming in the slighest...maybe still too wild to wear in the business office...but we all know I'll probably try :P

To get the vibe right:

1. Begin with a base of eyeshadow.  I like a crisp white or light cream color (matte if you have it!) on the whole of the lid

2. Slap on your favorite black eyeliner.  I run a pencil first, and then set and define things better with a felt tip eyeliner marker.  It can be pretty heavy, so go for it!

3. Begin, in dabs, to apply the liquid crystal gold liner just below your lower lash line.  Let dry and continue to build up in layers, smoothing it out into more of line as you go.  Follow the wing of your black liner when you get to the corners

My lower lashes are stupid long for some reason, so I just went with it and let them be glittery, too!

4. Add some mascara to the tops

5. EASY

6. DONE

also consider lining your lower waterline with white to make your eyes reflect light even more...it is crazy how bright your eyes will twinkle with this look!

<3

Alex

Hair How-To: THE TRIPLE TUCK PONY

If you can recall a previous post from a couple of months ago (a diy, in and of itself) you may remember me promising a little something....

I didn't think it would take so long to get to, however, but I am here to stick by my word--

Here's a how-to for a fancy little hair-do that only takes a few minutes!

1. Section your hair into three parts horizontally.  Keep the top layer a little on the heavy side and tie with an elastic as far back on your head as possible (it'll look weird when you "flip" it if it's on the top of your head!)

2. Once your parts are in order, we are going to take the flip!  Loosen your top section with your fingers, creating a gap right in front of your hair tie big enough for your ponytail to fit through.  This step is a little hard to explain but once you do it it's easy...you kinda just take your ponytail through the top of the hole you just created, and pull through.

You'll be rocking something like this!

 

3.  Move on to your next layer of hair, and created a gap like you did when you prepared for your first flip. 

4.  Instead of jumping on in with the second flip, take the ends of your first pony, give them a little twirl and slide then through the gap in your second section of hair.

5. Add your second flip!

6.  As imagined, repeat steps 4 & 5 with your third section of hair

And you're done!

* Of course,  you may want to consider small clear hair ties for your look, but heyyyy I'm lucky to have found 3 hair ties at all :)

* Try loosening your twists to hide the obviousness of the parts

* From my bracelet DIY post, you can see that the same idea works well with curled or wavy hair...this allows you to be even more messy when parting your hair...so I'm all about it

<3

<3

<3

THREE-FER FOR THE PRICE OF ONE POST

To make up for lost time, today's post in a three-fer and lucky for me not really about outfits so I didn't even really have to dress myself today...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

First off I have a bit of a beauty post, one I've been meaning to try out for months now and just finally attempted (with actual success, surprisingly)--

what is it, you ask?

THE TWO-TONE LIP has been pinned multiple times on my pinterest beauty board. Most tutorials say to use lip stains or the OCC lip tars.  I decided to dig in my treasure trove of lip products and see what would work.  I ended up using these:

Apparently I'm a Revlon rep, but their lip service is pretty on point.  For the top lip I used the ColorStay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick in Ultimate Orchid.  This stuff is really cool and I knew it would be perfect for this two-toned effect because it's very liquidy but dries quickly and stays put (just make sure you're lips are VERY moisturized before you put it on because it'll look crumbly in a hot second, if not). I opted for the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic for the bottom lip.  I have posted before about this series of balm stains and can't get enough--they're the only lipwear I want to wear during these brutal winter months because they are very moisturing but still allow you play with fun colors! I must say, however, for the two-toned lip you may want to stick with a more traditional stain so that it doesn't smudge as much as the balm stains.

OMG I LOVE IT (and hey, if it smudges a bit, you get an ombre effect so that's just a bonus in my book!)

As well, if you are wondering my polish on my nails is from American Apparel in the color Parakeet!

Let's move on the second part of this blog post...

THIS WINTER WEATHER...THIS CHICAGO WIND....IT IS NO JOKE.  As a Kansan my whole life I was like "shut up all you Chicagans (is that the correct identifier?) the weather is pretty much the same as Kansas."  But no, there is this nasty wind here that will eat your insides and rattle your fragile bones as you walk to and from your bus stop each morning and night.  So, against my redheaded stubborness I caved and became a big ol baby who needed some warmer winter wear. (Thankfully, winter apparel is "practical" so I didn't feel bad when I found these BEAUTIFUL items of warmth at H&M last week:

Nope, not a color balance issue...these bad boys are NAVY

There's something so fresh about the color navy this time of year and lately I've been into the idea of mixing things people have always told you not to mix--- like black and navy and even things like off-whites and whites. Although maybe not practical if you're in and out of places during your day, rings on the outside of your gloves (if they're pretty slim-fit gloves, such as these) looks like a million bucks.

These leather gloves are from H&M.  Also, be sure to get a pair that are a smidge tight on you because they're stretch out quite a bit after a little wear!

Thirdly, just a bit of a show and tell because I couldn't help myself:

This little beauty of a clutch magically appeared before me at the resale shop I work at last week, and you can bet your bottom dollar I put that on hold for myself the second I set eyes on it.  Normally, I'm a little hesitant to scream and shout to the world that "HEY GUYS, I'M A PHOTOGRAPHER" with camera related gadgets and apparel, what-have-you, but this is the exception....let me nerd out, okay.

In closing, I would like to thank my window for giving me the loveliest of light today and making my skin look wayyy less scaly than it actually is.  Let me know if you try out the two-toned lip and what colors or products you use, I will continue experimenting, too!