Hey, remember this dress? Yeah, I almost didn’t either. The funny thing is that I love wearing dresses, and own my fair share of them, but they don’t turn up in my outfit rotation nearly enough these days. Nope, don’t know what that’s about. With summer just around the corner, it’s time to rectify the situation. This dress still nets me lots of compliments, which is pretty good incentive.
red, white & black
The stars of this show, however, are my white Manolos. They’ve become a sort of running joke on my Instagram, which is amusing and oddly appropriate: upstaged by my footwear. Hashtag: Should Have Seen That Coming. Coincidentally (or not?!), my boss told me that these are his favourite pair of my shoes. And they say that men don’t pay attention to details.
Moral of the story? I would never have thought that a pair of white pumps would turn out to be the superstars of my footwear collection, but life (and style) takes funny turns sometimes.
Currently Wishful Thinking About: Lela Rose Floral Print Skirt
Lela Rose Floral Print Skirt
I don’t want to know how much it costs. I just want to look at it. It is so pretty, and so impractical. And so PERFECT. And the styling here is so on point, as they say. Are those anemones? Sigh.
Currently Loving: Inappropriate Texts with My Ladyfriends
Some days, I owe my sanity to the lovely and endlessly patient ladies who have agreed to share their phone numbers with me.
Currently Hunting: Marc Jacobs Mareika Silk Tulip Dress
Marc Jacobs Mareika Silk Tulip Dress
Another dress I fell in love with on a blog, this time on Jess. I feel like I could surely find a way to make this office-appropriate, even though the length seems questionable. eBay has been disappointing me over and over lately, so I can only hope that I’m due for a home run soon.
Currently Reading: Dreamsongs, Volume 1 I have just started this, so I can’t really tell you much about it just yet. I assume it’s going to be good. George RR Martin knows how to write good stories. I read Tuf Voyaging at the beginning of the year, and greatly enjoyed it even though I am not a sci-fi fan for the most part. That was actually the book (it’s really a collection of short stories aggregated around the same central character, Haviland Tuf) that made me want to read Martin’s non-Game of Thrones writings. Tuf gets a bit too didactic for my taste towards the ends, but the premise is brilliant (weirdo outsider accidentally acquires a very powerful spaceship with some pretty interesting life-creating capabilities, and begins to travel the galaxy offering his problem-solving services as an ecological engineer). I know better than to hope that Martin will go back to writing Haviland Tuf stories, but I am hoping for a TV show adaptation soon.
Currently Obsessing Over: The Desired Effect ** Game of Thrones
I’m not going to discuss the ending of the last GoT episode, because I’m still upset that HBO made me watch that. (I realized, as soon as Littlefinger mentioned Winterfell, that things were heading in this direction, but I talked myself into believing that the show wouldn’t go the gratuitous route on this story line. I was wrong.) Let’s talk about everything else. The good: Arya is ready to be Somebody Else! I am so excited to see whether the show sticks to the book on this story line, or where else it goes. My bet: the latter. Yess! And … that’s about it for the good.
The bad: Tyrion and Jorah’s “road trip” to Mereen bores me, as it did in the book. #SorryNotSorry Ditto for the King’s Landing story line. Wake me up when Cersei’s machinations blow up in her face, okay? And don’t even get me started on Dorne’s excuse for a story. Yawn. Also, superficial quibble: HBO, you couldn’t find two slightly less comatose performers for your Romeo & Juliet-lite? The one thing I can usually rely on GoT for are ridiculously good-looking people, generating lots of heat, dammit. If I want to watch cookie-cutter tweens make out with all the passion of a bag of frozen peas, I can watch Nickelodeon.
I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I can’t wait to catch up with Stannis and Dany next week.
** Who are we kidding? I am TOTALLY still obsessing over The Desired Effect. And dreaming up a list of 80s anthems I need BFlow to cover next.
A few of you have asked me about my make-up routine, and you know how literal I am. So. Here is a post that you may or may not have actually wanted. We could call this Make-up For Dummies, because that reflects my skills pretty accurately. On the upside, though you may learn nothing new in terms of application techniques, I hope you might at least find some new products to try. One side-effect of my make-up non-prowess, combined with my general lack of time and innate laziness, has been the whittling down of my daily routine to the basics – and to products that have earned my (undying?) loyalty. Let’s begin, shall we?
First, please excuse this terrible shot of my make-up products. What you see is what I use.
make-up!
My everyday/morning make-up routine takes about 10 minutes. Maybe less. I haven’t actually timed it. It takes about a third of a Backyardigans show, for reference. I don’t wash my face in the morning, but I will run some toner over my face if it’s looking greasy (almost never happens, as I tend to have dry skin). I mix my Cetaphil moisturizer with the L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte foundation, which … yes, sort of defeats the purpose of the whole matte thing. I found the foundation too cake-y on its own, so I like to “thin” it out with moisturizer. I used to do the same with the L’Oreal Youth Code BB cream I wore last summer – in that case, because the lightest BB colour was still too dark for me. #PastyGirlProblems
I used to use Bare Minerals powder foundation, until they stopped selling it at Shoppers Drugmart. (I prefer not to step foot into Sephora because #DangerWillRobinson) Since then, and as I get older, I find that I prefer liquid foundations again as I did in my early twenties. L’Oreal makes the best drugstore kind, in my opinion. I’ve also used the Visible Lift liquid foundation, the True Match foundation, and will probably try the Lumi as well. I honestly can’t tell the difference between them in terms of formula, but admittedly I am not very observant when it comes to the minutiae of skincare. They all cover nicely without making me look like a clown. In the interests of full disclosure, I should also say that I do not have problem skin – no acne, no scarring, just the occasional blemish (in which case, I use the Hard Candy Glamouflage stick concealer – it’s THE best and super cheap). So my foundation needs are pretty basic. Moving on.
I “put on” my eyebrows using the e.l.f. brow duo (medium brown). I have eyebrows, you just can’t see them in their natural state. I really like this product, especially considering it’s $5. I use the cream colour first (it has pretty good staying power) then “seal” it with the powder. Oh, I apply the cream colour with the little brush that comes with the compact, but use a MAC angled brush for the powder.
Next, I apply a light shadow to my eye lid (not pictured, but it’s from a Lancome gift-with-purchase mini compact). It’s a flat colour, about a shade brighter than my actual skin tone. I have deep(ish) set eyes, and I find this helps … um, bring them out or something. Don’t ask me, I told you I don’t know anything about make-up. I then apply a crease colour with my fingers (I apply almost all of my make-up with my fingers, actually, because apparently I am a toddler), and it’s usually either the camel-gold or the peach colour in the Lancome compact in the pic above. If I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll use plum, or mocha, or sometimes even green. #Whoa #LivingOnTheEdge #JK
Next, I put on the L’Oreal Infallible eyeliner, and thank God that’s one of the few skills I did sort of master. I’ve used other eyeliners in the past, but I like this one for a number of reasons. The black is black enough (I hate eyeliners that don’t have enough pigmentation), it has decent staying power, I don’t have to sharpen it, and it’s fairly affordable. Also, crayon type eyeliners are easier to put on than liquid ones. I’ll take convenience over precision 7 days out of 7.
Mascara time. This, I feel very passionate about. I take my mascara seriously, as you guys know. The best mascara I have tried to date is the L’Oreal Butterfly one. I just need two coats, and I have all the volume and definition I could possibly want. (And I want a lot, because Tammy Faye Bakker was my spirit animal.) Again, full disclosure: I have fairly long (though invisible) lashes that curl on their own, so my mascara needs are pretty specific – I just want something that makes them visible. I have never had issues with the Butterfly mascara flaking off, but it’s also pretty easy to take off at night, which is a bonus.
After the eyes are done, it’s time for some setting powder. I use the e.l.f. tone-correcting powder for this (another $5 wonder). I’m not sure it does any tone-correcting, but it’s a good colour match if you’re translucent like me – it mattifies without making my make-up look cakey, or my skin orange. If you’re not quite as pasty, this is probably going to be too light/white for you. Last, I apply some blush. I’m currently using the Benefit Dandelion compact, which I don’t think is technically called a blush, except that it’s totally a blush. It’s good. I think I will go back to Coralista once this pallet is done. Benefit blushes are the best. I only use powders because I find any cream or gel just sort of slip and slide around my face. #AintGotNobodyTimeForThat
Last but not least, I pick one of my many Rimmel Color Rush crayons, which are the best things ever, the end. You’ve heard that tune before.
And at the end of all that, I end up looking like this:
everyday make-up – ta-da!
And there you have it, folks. My everyday make-up routine in way too many words. If you’ve got questions, you know the comment drill 🙂
