My Little Red Dress

My dress came today!  (for background on that, check out this post).  Now, I got it off eBay in a 6 because I'm not one consistent size, and it's easier to fit the widest part of my body and then work from there.  The problem I have is that I'm a size at the chest, a 2 at the waist, and a 6 at the hips.  Boo.  So this dress fit everywhere except the waist, and I had to whip out my roomie's sewing kit and work some magic.  Aka hastily done/not so awesome sewing, but that's besides the point.


The colors in this picture came out so odd.  My arm is yellow.  What's up with that?  Bad camera.  Anyways, it's hard to see here but it does fit pretty well now.  I really like it!  It's very red and form-fitted for me, but I think it worked out well and I'll definitely get a lot of wear out of it.

That's all, folks!  Have a great Halloween weekend :)

Today's Wants

TGIF.  TGIF.  TGIF times a million.  Why?  BECAUSE IT'S HALLOWEEN WEEKEND!!!  So much excitement.  On that happy note, here are some current cravings of mine.


BE & D Foundry Bag, $945 at shopbop.com, Marc by Marc Jacobs Ozzie Square Lucy Tote, $398 at shopbop.com: I love the shapes of these bags.  They're both so structured and classic, but have little updates in the detailing.  This BE & D bag has such a practical handle, and the chain adds a nice bit of edge to the geometric shape and the neutral color (I'm totally loving that taupey-grey, by the way.  It's still a versatile color, but it's a little more interesting than the usual brown or black).  This Marc by Marc bag has the shape of a slightly slouchy Birkin bag, and I love it.  The red modernizes the structured shape nicely, the mock-croc embossing adds a touch of luxury, and there's a removable shoulder strap.  Lurve.

Illamasqua False Lashes, $16 at sephora.com: I'm toying with the idea of getting false lashes.  I've never been one of those girls that's really into mascara, just because I'm lazy and I'd rather do liner, so the idea of getting big lashes without dealing with multiple coats of mascara.  I trust Illamasqua for lashes because they do basically super intense theater/drag queen makeup, so I feel like their false lashes would be legit.  I'm especially keen on the lashes that get longer towards the outer corners, like these.  Has anyone tried false lashes before?  Any application tips?

Images from shopbop.com, shopbop.com, sephora.com.

Currently Craving

I'm watching Love Actually right now, so my brain is on adorable overdrive.  All I could manage to pull together was a roundup of some things that I'm craving right now.


Elizabeth & James Suede Hooded Jacket, $545 at net-a-porter.com, Rebecca Minkoff Claudia Dress, $310 at shopbop.com: I'm so intrigued by this jacket.  It looks like the love child of a biker jacket and a hoodie, with the suede exterior and the jersey interior, and the giant fold-over collar.  It's the perfect antidote to a lazy Sunday where you want to look put together with minimal effort--you throw this on with a pair of jeans and a girly top and you have a complete outfit in under 30 seconds.  This Rebecca Minkoff dress is hot (she does clothes now?).  It's a very literal take on the lingerie trend, but it's done in such a flattering way.  The panelling on the skirt may seem questionable, but it'll give you an hourglass silhouette while minimizing your hips at the same time, and did I mention that it's hot as heck?

Fyrinnae Shadows in Te Amo, $5.90 at fyrinnae.com, and Moon Child, $5.90 at fyrinnae.com: I'm in the midst of another serious Fyrinnae craving.  I've been wearing Rapunzel Had Extensions literally every day (love love LOVE), and I'm dying for more light, warm, shimmery Fyrinnae shades.  They just came out with a Dia de los Muertos collection--so freaking cool--and I'm totally smitten with Te Amo.  It's a 'glowing iridescent copper highlight', and when the light hits it it's this explosion of colors.  Just gorgeous.  Moon Child is a 'soft glimmer ivory with shimmer.'  How pretty would that be as a highlight or washed across the lid OR on the cheekbones?  Drool.

And last but not least, a clip from the best Halloween movie of ALL TIME, Hocus Pocus.  Yes, that is Sarah Jessica Parker.

Images from net-a-porter.com, shopbop.com, fyrinnae.com, fyrinnae.com.

Very, Very Basic Eye Shadow Tips

I typed this up for one of my roommates today, and since I'd already gone through all that trouble, I thought I'd share it with y'all.  It's just some really, really basic tips about applying shadow and liner.  Like eye shadow 101 status.


Ok, so:

When you’re doing eye makeup you have two goals:

            -To define your crease, which makes your eyes look deeper set aka sexier

-To define your upper and lower lash lines, which makes your eyes stand out more from the socket

Defining the crease:

-In order to make your eyes look deeper set, you want to make your crease appear to recede and your lid appear to come forward.

-You can do this using a combination of matte and shimmery colors.  Matte colors mimic the natural shadows of your eye, and shimmery colors attract light and make areas appear to come forward.

-Therefore, you use a matte color blended in your crease to make your eyes look deeper set, and you use a shimmery color across the lid to make your lid look like it’s coming forward.

-Always do a lighter color towards the inner corner of your eye (doing a dark color there will make you look tired), and a dark color towards the outer corner of your eye.  This makes your eye look more rounded.

Defining the lash line:

-You want to push liner or shadow onto your lash lines to create contrast with the white of your eye, which makes your actual eyes stand out more.  You can do this two ways:

            1.  The clean way:

-Line your upper lash line with a gel or a liquid liner

-Line your lower waterline with pencil liner

                        2.  The smudgy way:

-Line your upper lash line with pencil liner, and smudge the liner right into the base of your lashes

-Line your lower lash line with pencil liner (smudge the pencil liner into the base of your lower lashes)

Colors:

Flattering your skin tone: if you have warm skin (skin with pink or red undertones), then you want to use warm colors.  These include browns, taupes, golds, pinks, reds, purples, etc.  Stay away from cool colors like greens, blues, cool-toned pinks and purples, because these will fight with your skin’s undertones and make you look sickly.  The opposite goes for cool skin--use cool colors.  Of course, that's not a 100% of the time rule, but when you're just starting out with eye shadow it's much easier to stick to colors that flatter your skin tone.

           

Flattering your eye color: you want to use color wheel theory to come up with color combinations that will flatter your eye color.  For example, blue and orange are complementary colors. When you put orange next to blue it makes the blue look more vibrant, so blue eyes would look pretty against orange eye shadow.  If you have brown eyes, you have a lot of options because brown is a neutral, but you look especially good in browns, taupes, pinks, and purples.  Gold can be pretty, but you don’t want a yellowy-gold, as this can bring out the yellow in your brown eyes and make you look jaundiced.

I hope this helps somebody!  I'm no makeup expert, but I took about a million years of art classes, so I have a basic understanding of shapes and colors.  Fun times.

Georgia May

My day today went something along the lines of: MIDTERMMIDTERMPAPERPROBLEMSETMIDTERM, so I'm taking it the easy way out, and going to sleep early.


To tide y'all over until tomorrow, here are some pics of Georgia May Jagger (yes, Mick's daughter) in this month's Bazaar.  It's the year of the gap teeth, officially.  Oh, and it's all shot by Hedi Slimane.  Of course.

Images from fashionmag.us.

My Precious

So Reed Krakoff is the creative director (or something along those lines) of Coach.  Yes, the handbag brand.  I know.  He's also recently branched out into doing his own line.  It's not really my style, but some of the accessories are flat out ridiculous.  Like these boots.


Reed Krakoff Python Knee-High Boots, $1,895 at net-a-porter.com: These are my babies.  Well, not really my babies because I don't own them, but I want them to be my babies.  There are so many things I like here I don't even know where to start.  I love the neutral color palette, and how the taupey-grey is used to accent the beige python.  It's a very Celine color palette.  I like the combination of the sexy lace-up front and the Oxford-esque toe cap.  I love the stacked wood heels.  I love that these would work equally well with slim jeans as they would with bare legs, and would transition from daytime to nighttime so perfectly. The only thing I don't like here?  The price tag.  Boo on that price tag. 

Images from net-a-porter.com.

Spring 2011 Bridal Fashion Week

It's that time of year again--BRIDAL FASHION WEEK.  Aka that time of year where I feel justified in my cravings to stare at fluffy white dresses.  I thought I'd share some of them with y'all.  They're a good pre-humpday pick-me-up.


Angel Sanchez, Oscar de la Renta: If this Angel Sanchez gown had a sweetheart neckline, it would be on my body.  Aaah.  I love the flow of the bodice into the soft a-line skirt, and the way that the line details cascade from the bodice into the skirt.  I wouldn't really want to wear this second dress on my wedding day, but I really like it for other things.  Like the red carpet (because I'm on that all the time).  It reminds me of Marie Antoinette with the front ribbon/bow combo and the micro-pleats.  That pale pink hue is too pretty.  I love blush wedding dresses.  It's such a refreshing difference from the usual off-whites and creams.

Vera Wang: I have to say, I'm really warming up to Vera Wang.  I like how she uses black accents to take something that could be a bit too romantic and sweet, like this first gown, and give it a bit of an unexpected edge.  The way that the pleats on the bodice cascade down into that sea of ruffles is just so perfect.  It honestly looks like a cloud of rose petals.  If you want to feel like a fairy princess on your wedding day, that's the dress for you.  For a more classic look, this mermaid gown is so chic and timeless.  The cut itself is simple and flattering, and then you get the little details of the stripes in the skirt and the layers of tulle that take it from boring and safe to pared-down and sophisticated. 

Marchesa: Marchesa.  Drool.  I mean, what can you really say?  Brain explosion due to excessive pretty.  These are my two favorite silhouettes--fishtail and a-line ballgown.  The mermaid dress has such dramatic lines--it would almost be too much if the dress itself wasn't so simple.  The micro-pleating adds just enough visual interesting, and the floral decorations give it an organic twist that helps it all from being too pretty.  I love how fluffy the second dress is!  I just want to spin around in that skirt forever.  This dress is similar to the first Marchesa in that it also has a dramatic silhouette, but the dress itself is on the plainer side.  The subtle detailing that concentrates at the bodice and fades down into the skirt is very McQueen, no? 

Images from nymag.com, nymag.com, nymag.com, nymag.com.

Little Red Dress

So while I was prowling around Rent the Runway like I mentioned in my previous post, I stumbled across this dress.  My goal for the event I'm going to (a sorority formal) is just to look hot.  Honestly.  I wanted something fun and semi-formal and on-trend, and something that I could style differently and wear again.  

I've actually liked this Rebecca Taylor dress for a long time, but it never went on sale ($400 is not cheap!), so I forgot about it.  And then there it was on Rent the Runway for $50!  Right before I was about to rent it I decided to check and see if it was on eBay.  And it was there in my size for just $40 more than the 4 day rental price.  That's what I call fate.


Cosmo Engine Dress by Rebecca Taylor, $50 for four days at renttherunway.com: It's cuter in person, I promise.  It's a warm, corally-red, covered in silk micro-pleats, zippered up the bodice, and has little ties at the shoulders.  I love.  I think I can do it with a little leather jacket and flats for more daytime, and sky-high heels and some statement jewelry for night time.

 For the event I have coming up, I'm thinking black platform pumps and some sort of cuff bracelet.  I like these Jeffrey Campbell Tabitha Lace Platform Pumps, $130 at shopbop.com,  and this Madewell Crystal & Chain Fringe Cuff, $58 at shopbop.com.  I wanted a neutral pump that would sharpen up the girly dress a bit.  These black platforms seem all intense and hardcore from far away, but when you get closer you can see the slightly girly twist in the lace detailing that really works with the idea of the dress.  I didn't want to do a necklace for this dress because I think it would interfere with the neckline and the zipper.  This Madewell cuff works because it adds a rock and roll vibe to the dress without being so over the top that it steals the show entirely.

I'll post some pictures of the dress when I get it (probably over the weekend).

Images from renttherunway.com, shopbop.com, shopbop.com.

Rent the Runway Cravings

For those of you that aren't familiar with Rent the Runway, it's a site that has a ton of designer dresses, which you can rent at a fraction (usually around a tenth) of the retail price.  You get the dress for 4 days, and you can get the dress shipped to you in two different sizes for the same price, so you know it'll fit.  You can also get a deal if you rent two dresses at the same time (so do it with a friend and save money on shipping too!).  When I heard about this site a while ago, I thought it was a good idea but didn't know if I'd ever actually use it.  I'd rather just buy the dress, you know?  The cost per wear would even things out eventually.  But I have a sorority formal coming up in a few weeks, and I totally forgot to get a dress.  I wanted a nice dress, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money.  Lightbulb moment!  (I actually ended up buying a dress, which I'll talk about in my next post, but here are some of the ones I considered).


Robert Rodriguez On the Prowl Dress, $50 at renttherunway.com, Herve Leger Heartbreaker Dress, $100 at renttherunway.com: I just love the name of this Robert Rodriguez dress.  I'm not entirely sold on velvet, but the cut of this dress is so flatteirng--the way it drapes at the waist creates an instant hourglass figure, and the leather trim at the neckline adds just the right amount of edge.  This pink Herve Leger is my favorite.  Hands down.  It needs to be in my life.  I love the sexy-but-simple cut, the grey and pink color combo, just everything about it.  It's girly, but it's grown-up and sophisticated.

Herve Leger Royal Bandage Dress, $100 at renttherunway.com, Proenza Schouler Flirty Pocketed Bustier Dress, $150 at renttherunway.com: More Herve Leger.  Love.  Just love.  I will be wearing Herve Leger on my birthday.  I've decided this.  This dress can get away with the fact that it's so short and so tight because the cut itself is so simple, and it's a lovely, monochromatic purple.  I'd do this with a pair of nude heels and some statement earrings--that's really all you need.  This Proenza Schouler dress is a little less formal, but it's just so darn cute!  The bustier adds a little sex appeal, the high-waisted, a-line skirt balances that out with a little girliness, and the pockets are so convenient.  Also adorable.

Badgley Mischka Screen Siren Gown, $100 at renttherunway.com, Brian Reyes Striking Sophisticated Gown, $250 at renttherunway.com: Okay, so I don't need a floor length dress, but these were just really pretty, so I had to post them.  That Badgley Mischka dress is covered entirely in gold sequins.  SEQUINS.  ALL OVER.  It's so sparkly it should be illegal.  It's almost verging on Oscar statuette territory, but I think it would be really fun to wear to a black tie-ish event (provided that you aren't a wallflower and that you have a good sense of humor).  This black dress is a more classic option.  I love that it's such a basic silhouette, but the fit and details are so impeccable.  The cut is sexy, but not too revealing, and the pleating on the bodice adds some visual interest without being too crazy.

Images from renttherunway.com, renttherunway.com, renttherunway.com, renttherunway.com, renttherunway.com, renttherunway.com.

It's Sephora Friends and Family Time!

I LOVE IT WHEN MAKEUP GOES ON SALE.  I mean it's not really on sale in this case, but you get a 20% off discount code (FF2010) and free shipping over $50.  This sale lasts til 11/03/10, so get on that.  This is the perfect occasion to buy something you haven't quite been able to justify, because honestly, makeup never goes on sale.  Ever.  This is as good as it gets.  Here are a few things I've been eying. 


Philosophy Eye Believe, $30 at sephora.com, Guerlain Meteorites Luminizer, $56 at sephora.com: Eye cream!  I trust Philosophy when it comes to skin care.  This eye cream promises to reduce dark circles, puffiness, and fine lines with a bunch of ingredients that I've never heard of but that sound very sciency.  I can't deal with science, I just trust the long words.  But it has great reviews on the Sephora website, so it must be good.  I've wanted a Meteorites luminizer for such a long time.  They just look so chic and old-school on your vanity, the packaging is fab, and I love that they combine different colors to create different effects.  Blue and green to reduce redness, purple to reduce yellowness, etc, etc.  You can get it in gold, pink, or beige.  I'm thinking gold or beige.  The idea of adding pink all over my face terrifies me.

Dior Skin Shimmer, $44 at sephora.com, Benefit Hoola Bronzer, $28 at sephora.com: I am seriously craving this Dior Skin Shimmer in Amber Diamond (a bronzey-champagne).  The shimmer is so fine that it looks more like a lit-from-within glow than anything I've seen, it lasts forever, and this is pathetic, but the Dior compacts are so nice.  They have this really satisfying click when you close them that makes me want to have one so badly.  I've been looking for a good matte bronzer for a while now, and Hoola is the best option I've found.  It's totally matte, just deep enough to make a convincing contour, and doesn't skew yellow or orange.  I've had such good luck with Benefit's Sugarbomb that I'm dying to get another of their boxed powders.

Laura Mercier Secret Camoflague, $28 at sephora.com, Urban Decay Mattifying Gel, $28 at sephora.com: I've seen this Laura Mercier concealer in a bunch of YouTube beauty videos lately.  It seems to work as an imperfection concealer AND an under-eye concealer, which is fab, and you get two shades so that you can mix to match your skin tone perfectly.  I am in desperate need of a mattifier.  I can powder all day, but by noon I'm still an oil slick.  It's SO ANNOYING, because it makes you look gross and sloppy.  I've heard good things about this mattifier, and it seems to make pores look smaller too, which is always a plus.

Images from sephora.com, sephora.com, sephora.com, sephora.com, sephora.com, sephora.com.

Eye Cream?

I realize that I'm not even 20 yet, but I'm thinking about investing in some eye cream.  Yeah, I'm crazy, I know.  But I feel like the sooner you start the anti-aging stuff, the better, right?  And I get terrible undereye circles, so anything that makes those go away is good in my book.  


My goal: get a somewhat cheap, low-key eye cream that will moisturize without breaking me out and isn't too chemical heavy.


Say Yes to Carrots Eye Contour Cream, $14.99 for 1.7 oz at sayyestocarrots.com, Burt's Bees Repair Serum, $18 for 1 oz. at burtsbees.com: The Say Yes to Carrots option is a bit cheaper, and it has green tea, aloe, carrot juice, chamomile, dead sea water, and various other things.  It seems like a light cream and promises to hydrate and refresh.  The Burt's Bees option is a little more expensive, but I think I'd use less of an oil than I would of a cream every night, so it might end up costing the same amount.  It has rosehip oil, jojoba oil, primrose oil, wheat germ oil, hazelnut oil, and green tea extract--basically lots of oils.  I think if you break out easily around the eyes or tend to get milia, this might not be a good option, but I have such dry skin that it might work out.

What do you guys think?  Am I crazy to want to get an eye cream before I even turn 20?


Images from sayyestocarrots.com, burtsbees.com.

Hair Musings

Kids, I have the hair doldrums.  I am bored out of my mind trying to grow my hair out.  IT TAKES FOREVER.  GAH.  It's down to about 2-1/2 inches below my collarbone.  I want it about 3 inches longer.  Ugh.  So I'm taking out my boredom with wanting to change my hair color.  Right now it's the usual warm medium brown, but I'm thinking I either want to go redder or ombre.  I have picture inspiration.  Woohoo!


Emma Stone is 100% my red-headed hair inspiration.  Her hair color is naturally medium brown, and while she still looks pretty as a brunette, she looks even better as a red-head.  It's so warm and really livens up her whole look.  My hair is already on the reddish side, so it wouldn't be a big stretch.

Or I'm thinking I could do ombre, which is where your hair gets lighter towards the ends like it's been highlighted by the sun.  I'd go for more Rachel Bilson than the girl on the right, just a subtle fade towards the ends and darker at the roots.

Clairol Perfect 10 Dye, $11.99 at drugstore.com: This is my brand of hair dye, Clairol Perfect 10.  The color on the left is the one I usually do, Medium Golden Brown, and the one on the right is Dark Auburn.  What do y'all think I should do?  Are you feeling ombre, or is it too out there?

Images from eayoyo.com, glamour.com, the-scenic-world.blogspot.com, drugstore.com.

Halloween Costume: Sookie Stackhouse

Ah.  True Blood.  Such an endless source of hot people, ridiculous acting and plot lines, and hilarious accents.  I love you.  The easiest person to dress up as is Sookie (although Pam would also be a hilarious option).  She doesn't really have a lot of costume changes.  It's either the Merlotte's uniform, jean shorts and a crew neck, or a retro, floral sundress.  The jean shorts option is boring, so I ignored it.


Sundress, and Merlotte's uniform.  The keys to the rest of the look are minimal makeup, long blonde hair, and possibly fang marks on your neck (easily achieved with red eyeshadow and black eyeliner). 

Sookie Costume Set, $44.98 at hbo.com, J. Crew 3" Chino Shorts, $24.50 down from $39.50 at jcrew.com: You can buy the legit Merlotte's outfit at the HBO website.  $45 isn't cheap, but I would totally wear this more than once.  Probably the shirt during daily life.  I'm really cool.  So you do the shirt and the apron, and then she usually does a pair of basic black shorts.  These J. Crew shorts are perfect, and they're totally on sale right now.  Get on that.  Add a pair of white Keds and you're good to go.

Modcloth Floral Fiesta Dress, $63.99 at modcloth.com: On the other extreme you have the retro-girly sundress.  She really only does the extremes, nothing in the middle.  Whatever.  I like this Modcloth version because you could wear it after Halloween.  The cut is flattering, it says Southern charm but it's not so kitschy that it isn't wearable, and that ruffled skirt is just so flouncy!

Images from tvfanatic.com, truebloodguide.com, hbo.com, jcrew.com, modcloth.com.

Halloween Costume: Blair Waldorf

I like Halloween.  I really love Halloween costumes.  One, they're an excuse to be ridiculous, and two, they're an excuse for me to buy new clothes.  It's a win-win!  I know this costume idea isn't the freshest one, but it's still really fun.  I'm thinking Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl: preppy, Upper East Side ice queen.


This is classic Blair Waldorf.  I decided not to do a headband for this because Blair has actually grown out of the headbands (crazy, I know), but her basic style remains the same.

J. Crew Lisette Lace Shell, $98 at jcrew.com, See by Chloe Bow-embellished Flared Skirt, $295 at net-a-porter.com: She does a lot of a-line skirts and embellished tops, generally in combination with bows and lace and some sort of jewel tone.  And here we have all three!  The a-line skirt is very flattering, the bow is very schoolgirl Blair, and this is definitely something you could wear again (say with a plain white tank and a little leather jacket?).  The shell is nice and streamlined against the volume of the skirt, the high-neck is classic Blair, and the two jewel tones play off of each other perfectly. 

J. Crew Jenna's Cardigan, $70 at jcrew.com, J. Crew Bow and Chain Ballet Flats, $168 at jcrew.com: I had to do a cardigan.  She's just such a cardigan person.  This one is nice and fitted, and cropped so that it will hit just at the waist of the skirt.  The dark grey doesn't compete with the jewel tones of the rest of the outfit, and the ribbed waist gives it a bit of a retro, Audrey Hepburn vibe (very appropriate).  Now, with Blair and shoes you can do either heels or ballet flats.  I'm tall and clumsy, so I'd go for ballet flats.  These are just very simple and girly, the color ties in with the cardigan, and the bows are very, very UES.

I did this with higher end pieces because Blair wears very high end pieces and because I'd totally use this outfit as an excuse to go shopping.  However, you could definitely replicate this ensemble with pieces from Forever21 or H&M for much less--the basic ideas are the same.


Images from bwaaiin.wordpress.com, jcrew.com, net-a-porter.com, jcrew.com, jcrew.com.