Amanda Seyfried for Elle

Oh Friday.  How I love you.  Today is all about pretty things (when is this blog not about pretty things?).  Oh, but before I forget, there's a Zoya promo that ends this Sunday where you can get two of the polishes from their two new summer collections (Sunshine, Mod Matte, and Summertime) for $10 with shipping.  Two polishes with shipping is usually at least twice that much, so it's a pretty good deal.  I picked up Areej, a soft muted cool fuschia pink, and Kimmy, a gleaming metallic candy apple red with gold sparkle--love me some glitter.


How to Dress for Success by Edith Head, $19.95 at shopbop.com: I love Edith Head.  I worship her work.  She was the costume designer for To Catch a Thief, Funny Face, Roman Holiday, Sabrina, All About Eve, Sunset Boulevard, and Sting (along with like a million other films).  She's won more Oscars than any other woman ever (8) and had 35 nominations.  So she knows what she's doing.  Here's an adorable reprinting of her personal style book, How to Dress for Success.  I haven't read it, but I love retro fashion advice, and it's really easy and fun to see what kind of advice is timeless and still works today (and if it worked then and works now it's probably worth following).

"In Like a Lamb," Amanda Seyfried for Elle April, shot by Alexei Hay.  I love this photoshoot.  I wish magazines would stop doing the 'pretty young starlet posing with farm animals' cliche, but given that she just did Red Riding Hood I guess it makes a bit of sense.  Although that movie was downright horrible.  Amanda was great, but it was like a hackneyed version of Twilight with absolutely no chemistry between the two leads and negative character development.  Ugh.  But anyways, Amanda Seyfried looks fabulous here.  I love the simple hair against the strong makeup, and the McQueen vibe of all the clothes, and her eyes--omg.  I just watched Veronica Mars, which she was in right after Mean Girls, and damn, this girl is talented.  Also annoyingly pretty.

Images via shopbop.com, fashiongonerouge.com.

Pretty Pretty

This reminds me of how much I want to see that new Red Riding Hood movie.  Which is a LOT.  As I love Amanda Seyfried because she is a fellow natural blonde with a freakishly large chest, so I relate to her.  Yay!


But the real point of this is that she looks fab here, and I love her hair texture.  I think matte/messy is going to be my new hair goal.  My hair's natural state is shiny and polished.  I know it's annoying of me to say, but I seriously wish it would be messier.  I love messy hair.  I'm going to (eventually) try this Redken treatment that I've heard really good things about and see what happens.

Image via designscene.net.

Mila Kunis in March W

I had mixed feelings about Black Swan as a movie, but Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis were FANTASTIC.  Also annoyingly gorgeous, as Mila Kunis is in this month's issue of W.  Clearly the spread had some Black Swan influences (hello, lace/tulle/black feathers), and while the clothes are lovely, I'm having serious hair and eye makeup envy here.  I really like the texture of her hair.  This is a serious hair crush, kids.

Images via justjared.buzznet.com.

Crystal Renn and the Plus Size Debate

This spread from the recent issue of Harper's Bazaar has caused a lot of controversy in the blogosphere recently.  There's been a lot of drama over Crystal's weight fluctuating, and how people think that as a plus size model she needs to stay plus size (especially as the poster child for plus size models).


To which I have to say: who cares if she loses some weight?  I think the fact that she looks a lot thinner in these is mostly due to the lighting and camera angles.

I read her autobiography over summer break, and here's what I think happened.  She had a severe eating disorder for most of her teenage years, and to help herself get over it she stopped going to the gym, where she would work out obsessively.  And she's said recently that she's just been able to start working out in a healthy way again, so I think that might be a big part of it.  The girl already has so much speculation over her body as a plus size model.  Give her a break.

Images from fashionista.com.

The Family Circus

This W spread (from the December issue) is fantastic.  I love anything that's a twist on a fairy tale, and this is a dark/glam twist on fairy tales.  The heavy snow effects only add to the magical quality of it all.

Also I'm really excited for all these fairy tale movies coming out soon.  This is the Red Riding Hood trailer (2011).


 And I was excited for this, but on rewatching the trailer...hm....Although I do like anything with talking sassy horses.


The Family Circus, shot by Paolo Roversi for W Magazine, featuring Lindsay Wixon, Arizona Muse, and Britt Maren.

Images from wmagazine.com.

Spotted: Leighton Meester in Vera Wang

Sorry for failing yesterday.  I spent the majority of the day huddled on the futon re-reading social psychology notes and stressing about midterms.  Fun times!  To make up for said failure, here's a fab picture of Leighton Meester on the set of the ad for a new Vera Wang fragrance, and presumably wearing Vera Wang.

There's just so much pretty here--the juxtaposition of the fishtail ballgown and the fire escape, the undone hair against the drama of the dress, and that gorgeous berry-burgundy color.  Drool.  I die.  This paparazzi shot could be the actual ad, it's so well-composed.

Image from jezebel.com.

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.

Friday Inspirations

One of the things that really frustrates me about magazines is that it takes so, so long to change the address on your subscription.  So I had all my mags going to school, and since it would take almost the whole summer to change the address, I just left them with that address.  That means I haven't gotten any mags all summer.  :(  I was doing really well, but I had a bit of a breakdown and grabbed the September issue of Marie Claire, which I normally don't read.  However, this issue had a TON of fab photoshoots, and since today was a blah Friday, I thought I'd post a few inspiring pics to make for a fabber weekend.

I'm not usually a fan of Olsen twin style, but the way Mary Kate was styled in this shoot was pitch perfect.  Very romantic, lots of faux fur and chiffon layers, and sexy, in a very layered way.  I think my favorite shots are the last two; the sheer black is so Addams family meets burlesque, and that red dress is so perfect paired with the nude faux fur.  I think red and nude might be my new favorite color combo, and those two silhouettes play so nicely together...sigh.

Anouck Lepere: I'm having such serious hair envy.  That slightly wavy, rumpled texture is so perfect and casually hot, and so nothing my hair will ever do.  Boo.  The clothes on this shoot were equally fab, very Alexander Wang meets military.  I especially love the combo of the plaid and the faux fur leopard.  It seems like it would be too over the top and wouldn't work, but for some reason, it totally does.

She's A Lady:  This shoot reminds me of a modern Betty Draper on steroids.  It's a little Grey Gardens, with the layers and layers and furs and layers, but it's so damn chic.  If y'all can't tell, I'm really feeling the luxe layers.  I feel like after so many seasons of sleeveless and mini dresses, it might be fun to play with being a little more covered up.  It might even be sexier to show less skin--crazy, I know.  Also that floral dress belongs on my body.

Images from:
Mary Kate: marieclaire.com, Anouck Lepere: glamcheck.com, Ingvlid: absinthrill.blogspot.com.

Loving: Maroon 5 and Mild Trashiness

I did a lot of wandering around and shopping today, mainly in Santa Monica.  Can I just say how much I love the Kitson Outlet?  Kitson itself generally annoys me, but this outlet had the biggest selection of embellished sandals EVER, and Butter London/Lippman nail polish for $5, and things like Jill Stuart dresses on serious sale.  If you're in LA, I definitely recommend hitting that up.  Now, on to the general randomness.


MAC Shadow in Carbon, $14.50 at maccosmetics.com: So MAC and Maroon 5 may not seem all that related, but the new Maroon 5 video for their single, Misery, just came out, and I'm loving the eyeshadow the evil girlfriend is wearing (her fab side-braid is also worth looking at).  It's a matte black smudged into the lower lashline and upper lashline, winged out a bit, and smudged some more.  The interesting part is there's no shadow on the inner corner and no liner on the waterline.  It's a really intense look without piling on too much product.  I'm intrigued, and shall be picking up MAC's Carbon to try it out.

Here's the music video just for the heck of it.  It's hilarious and the song is great and I think it deserves taking a little work break to watch.



Too Faced Leopard Love Complexion Perfection Kit, $30 at sephora.com, Kenneth Jay Lane Box Link Toggle Bracelet, $88 at shopbop.com: I'm not a big fan of Too Faced, but this Leopard kit is too cute to pass up.  First off, it's a great value to get all three of these in the same compact, complete with little instructions/ideas on how to wear them.  The shades are Peach Leopard, a bronzy-apricot hue, Candy Leopard, a pop of bright pink, and Pink Leopard, for an illuminating golden/pink glow.  I really like that you can get a blush/bronzer/highlighter combo in the same palette, and that the shades have multiple shades in them, so you can get a ton of different colors out of a single palette.  I realize this bracelet looks a little boring just lying there, but on the wrist it basically looks like a ton of stacked bangles.  Except without the noise and annoyingness of wearing a stack of bangles.  It's a great way to make a statement, but it's also not so in your face that you can't wear it all the time.

Venomous Villains for MAC: More pictures of Venomous Villains!  I think the packaging is a little better than I expected from the initial pictures, and I'm still loving the Evil Queen and Maleficent.  And check out that purple polish with the teal duochrome!  It needs to be on my nails.  Right now.  It's a little evil and murky looking, but not so crazy that it's not appropriate to wear to work, etc.  I just wish it had the fun packaging too.  :(

Wildfox Couture: Peace Racer Tank, $32.99 at ebay.com, Peace & Love Tee, $29.99 at ebay.com, Valley Girl Tee, $32.99 at ebay.com: I have a teensy confession to make.  Every so often, and not in public, I like to dress just a teensy bit trashy.  As in annoying logo tees and Victoria's Secret sweats and hoodies.  At my trip to Kitson's Outlet today (OMG love), I saw some Wildfox Couture tees.  And yes, they are totally trashy in a Miley Cyrus sort of way, but they're also kind of adorable and somewhat affordable if found via eBay.  The peace sign tees are just your general hippie cuteness, but I love that Valley Girl tee.  So many people at school in Boston talk about the California accent and how it's that we say "like" and "omigod" all the time.  Which may be true, but I think it's a heck of a lot better than a Boston accent.  There.  I said it. 

Alessandra Ambrosio for Moschino: I think it's really interesting that following Louis Vuitton's Fall show with a bunch of Victoria's Secret models, a bunch of Victoria's Secret models pop up in Fall campaigns.  I love it, I just hope that it lasts.  Alessandra as a pirate?  I'll take that any day over Sasha in the same poses and the same styling.  It's jaunty, it makes a statement, it's fresh, and I like it.  I call this one a winner.

Chanel Iman for The Block Summer 2010: And for a little summer inspiration, here's a lovely shoot with Chanel Iman for The Block (no idea what that is, gonna be honest).  Her pixie-ish haircut and '60s liner work perfectly with the rustic setting and ulta-glam/edgy clothes.  It's just dreamy.

Image Sources:
Maroon 5 video: youtube.com, Too Faced kit: sephora.com, Kenneth Jay Lane bracelet: shopbop.com, Venomous Villains pics: temptalia.com, Wildfox Couture shirts: ebay.com, ebay.com, ebay.com, Moschino ad: nymag.com, Chanel Iman shoot: fashiongonerogue.com.

Who Doesn't Want to Be a Vermillionaire?

I'm really trying to venture outside of my makeup routine these days.  I'm only wearing the cat eye when I go out (that's a big step for me) and I'm wearing orange shadow (Mythology!) and mascara and blush!  So if I'm posting a lot of makeup cravings in the next few days, that's why.


Nars Summer Collection: My dedication to NARS waffles.  I love their eyeshadows, am ambivalent about their lipglosses, and struggle with their blushes and multiples.  Which is why I'm surprised that my favorite products from the summer collection are all cheek products.  I know Taos is a permanent blush, but isn't that the prettiest raspberry hue?  I can't believe I've never tried it before!  Enchanted looks like basically the loveliest blush color ever, a soft peachy pink with tons of gold sparkles.  I like blushes that double as highlighters, and since my skin already has a ton of pink in it I try to stay away from the usual pink-based hues.  This could be the perfect shade, and it's cream-based, which works so much better on my dry skin.  Most bronzers skew way, way too orange on me, and while it seems counter-intuitive, I've found that bronzers with pinky hues tend to look the most natural on me.  Lamu seems perfect because it definitely has pink undertones, but doesn't lose its bronziness, and has a ton of gold sparkles.  I will definitely be swatching this one in Sephora.

Angela Kohler photo series, Essie Nail Polish in Vermillionaire: My jaw dropped when I saw this photo series, mainly because I'd know that Lanvin dress from Fall a few seasons ago anywhere, and because that installation of light posts is less than a block away from where my junior prom was, and Maudie and I definitely played around in there for awhile.  I have an unreasonable love for this dress.  It's not crazy flattering or really complicated, but there's something so exuberant about it, with the micropleats and the lightness of the fabric.  It just moves so well.  Sigh.  And that dress reminded me of an Essie polish that I've been craving recently, Vermillionaire.  I don't think it's out yet, but I need it.  It's a bright orange-red that reminds me of poppies and summertime and needs to spend the next few months on my toes.

MAC Superglass in Disco Blend, Sugar Overload, Sweet Tart, and Tunnel of Love, $18 at maccosmetics.com: The newest MAC collection just dropped, and it's the lovely, much anticipated Superglass collection.  These are only four of the glosses from the collection, but, um, wow.  They are SO sparkly.  SO SPARKLY.  They actually have chunks of glitter in them.  I know that's not everyone's taste, but it's definitely mine.  I want all of these aside from Tunnel of Love.  The swatches are in the same order, and I think that Disco Blend is a really fun alternative to pink, Sugar Overload is great if you just want sparkle and no color, and Sweet Tart adds a nice pop of pink.

"Long Live Couture" from V Magazine, shot by Simon Proctor.  I absolutely love this shot from V.  They've managed to spotlight a handful of the Couture collections in an interesting, new way.  The Chanel show is absolutely killing me.



And to end on another pretty note, here's a lovely photo collage from one of my new favorite blogs, A Thing For.  Anything with peonies makes my heart melt, and when you throw in some carnival looking lights and things that remind me of a romantic summer in the South, I'm a total goner.

Image Sources:
NARS summer collection: karlasugar.com, Angela Kohler photos: ohjoy.blogs.com, Essie polish: alllacqueredup.com, MAC superglasses: temptalia.com, photo collage: athingfor.blogspot.com, V Magazine spread: vmagazine.com.