Perfect Winter Color: OPI's 'In the Cable Carpool Lane'

Nail of the day time! Rocking one of OPI's new dark berry shades, In The Cable Car-Pool Lane.

Say hello to the East Coast snow.

Kitten Heels: Fashion Footwear Underdog

“If I'm not in six inch heels I may as well be barefoot,” some posh model says with her perfectly sculpted gazelle legs from a Vogue spread. Most of us women with an interest in fashion are attracted to it because of it's fantasy element. We pretend there is no utilitarian purpose to our outfits. That's fine. But what about the lot with back problems, weak ankles, or plain old gravitational challenges? Of course, there is the age old feminist adage that goes a little something like, “High heels? The easier for the men to run you down and club you over the head!”

But wait, there is a compromise! An unsung hero! A little demure, a little playful. The kitten heel. Unfortunately, designers have yet to give them their time in the sun. Paruze any online shopping website. You'll see the drop down menu is thoughtfully sectioned into heels, flats, boots, wedges, and sandals. No love for our girl the kitten heel.

Despite it's poor reputation, I have fond memories of closets lost with a few of these choice heels. I recall a pair of black faux leather darlings with fuchsia accents that accompanied me to many an interview. Last Valentines Day my boyfriend gifted me some spunky leopard patent leather numbers. I receive compliment bombs every time I wear them.

Meow

See? One doesn't have to be going to their 5^th grade chorus recital to rock these. Wake up, shoe designers! There is so much potential with these foot-friendly heels that hasn't been expanded upon. Despite my few lucky finds, I find something breathtaking in the style few and far between. Even attempting to research high end brands that offer kitten heels is a hard task. A Google search brings up nothing but Ebay and ugly Manolo Blahnick's. (Sorry Carrie Bradshaw.) Though I will give some credit to Valntino's “Rockstud” kitten heels, a strappy BDSM-inspired number I envision on Joan Jett.

Drug Store Makeup Reviewage: Part ll (Lipstick Edition)

Long time no blog, dear reader(s). Life is the leech-like vortex that sucks the time away from your hobbies and extracurricular projects.
 But I digress! I'm here to bring you another installment of Drugstore Makeup Reviewage. About a year and a half ago I reviewed the Wet N Wild longwear line, Megalast. Fergie of The Black Eyed Pea's recently put her tramp stamp on a new Wet N Wild lipstick line. While I loathe celebrity branding, the colors were similar to that of the Melt Cosmetics line I've been ogling for months. I try to shop original and independent brands as much as I can, but a low level retail check can only stretch so far. Until someone gracially gifts me some Belladonna or Six6six, these colors will have to whet my whistle. Of course, this is why I do this. I know there are other's out there who adore fashion, beauty, and lush cosmetics as much as I do, but  can't lead the life of a quaintrelle full time.
 The colors I'm reviewing tonight are Fuchsianista and Ferguson's Crest from Fergie's Center Stage Collection. Fuchsianista is a vibrant fuchsia with magenta undertones with red violet and magenta undertones.

Fuchsianista

 

Closer view of Fuchsianista and the shine (No gloss over top)

Ferfuson's Crest is a deeper more purple variant of Fuchsianista. They're sisters from another mister shade-wise. Ferguson's Crest has a more muave undertone, which makes for a very wearable purple. Both shades layer well with minimal feathering without the aid of a lipliner. It glides on with a fairly creamy consistency, which is worlds away from the Megalast line in this regard. Two con's I've noticed with all the shades from the Center Stage Collection are the fact that after a few hours of wear it will become a little drying, and it likes to cling to my teeth. This is true for most vivid lipstick shades, though. The packaging seems to have improved a little from the Megalast line. I love Megalasts, but the lid isn't terribly secure. This line has a little less lid popping off action, but it's still prone to that. When I store it in my purse I make sure to put it in it's own pocket.

Ferguson's Crest

Overall, 4/5 stars. For $3.50 each it's worth investing the few bucks and  working around slight packaging issues. You can purchase at: Walgreens.

What's Black and White and Red Allover?

My effing nails!

Is that a dead zebra? No, it's Hard Candy's "Black Tie Optional."

I had a chance to play with a friends nail polish collection last night. She had a lot of fun confetti top coats, but Hard Candy's "Black Tie Optional" caught my eye. The black and white speckling looks like graffiti over the red base coat. If put under a blue or purple it could have an interesting galaxy look. It went on rather smoothly, which is rare for glitter/graffiti topcoats. Overall, highly recommended.

Return of the Box

Once again, fellow blog diva Daphne of Becoming That Woman a giant box of cosmetic goodies. (For reference, check out the first blog about it HERE. One of my favorites has to be Tarte's True Blood themed eyeshadow set.

I dug into some of the stuff this afternoon. Face of the day featured "telepath" eyeshadow from Tarte's True Blood, No 7's illuminating lotion (highlighting on my cheeks and nose), and a new "lip bomb" from Mirenesse.

Tarte's "telepath" eyeshadow on my lids.

Tarte's "telepath": A light smokey pink/muave with shimmer. Great for a base to work cateye liner over.

Mirenesse Lip Bomb in red: Full color opaque lip gloss with a magenta base. It does smudge easily, but god damn the color is to die for. It's a bombshell red with magenta base. It does stain the lips for a while after wiping it off.

No. 7 Illuminating Lotion: Pink pearlescent lotion ideal for highlighting cheeks for a nice glow in place of blush.

Dolled up.

                                                                 Peace out bitches!

Just Belt It

My favorite fashion accessory  of the moment has to be the belt. Punk rockers looked like badasses in their spiked and bulleted belts. Mid 2010 era Russell Brand looked like a hard edged glam dandy dream with multi-layered belts hanging from his waspy waist. It's especially a friend of women with a more zaftig frame. Flowing dresses and tunic tops can look a bit bulky or plain om fuller figures.
So yes, I admit it. I'm in the cult of women who rock polkadot dresses and a skinny red belts. Belting a flowing blouse right above the waist is another classic.
There are a few other waist cinching trends that have caught my eye recently.
                                                                   Bow Belts

You had me at bow.

                                                                   Technicolor Belts:

Ah, spearmint.

Polkadot dress. Check. Red skinny accent belt. Check.

 Until next time, dear readers.


*First image courtesy of Amazon.com. Second image courtesy of Target.com.

Look Who Got Retweeted By Sugarpill!

Sugarpill retweeted my picture! <3

Impressionistic Nails

When I was growing up my mother was quite fond of impressionistic painters. I remember leafing through books of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas paintings as a budding curious little creative.

"Summertime" by Mary Cassatt

This is part of the inspiration for the latest nail painting, what I call my Impressionist nails. I used a robins egg blue base coat coat, and 4 other correlating shades.

Body Positive and Healthy? *Gasp*

There is a disconnect between the body positive community and the healthy lifestyle community. A fair amount of people assume that those of us who aren't compact gym bunnies sit on our asses all day shoveling Mcdonalds down our gullets faster than the speed of light. I have also seen frustrated plus sized girls post, "I love to eat, so what?" Do most of us sometimes forgo health for comfort food? Absolutely. That doesn't mean healthy folk don't succumb to unhealthy habits. Neither does that mean chubby men and women eat nothing but junk and boycott the gym. In fact, I work out at the gym and usually average 2-3 miles of walking a week via my commute to and from work. Would it be more advantageous to my waistline to hit the gym more and give up sweets? Yes. Am I going to do that any time soon? Given my current work schedule and private life stressors, that would be a hell no.
The point of all this is that we're human. We strive and we err. We may wish for someone else's body type, but what we've got is what we've got. What if that never comes? Are you going to spend your life coveting instead of living? What if heaven is in a size 0 and there is no god? To quote Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. "I'm alive and that is the best that I can do."
To wrap this up, I thought I'd share a semi-healthy pancake recipe. This is also a great recipe when you're scraping a meal together!
Recipe
1 egg
1 ripe banana
Mash together in a bowl
* I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of cinamon
If you like things sickeningly sweet you can add  powdered sugar. (Like I did. Because I have a package of powdered sugar from a previous recipe wasting away in the cupboard.)
This was my first time trying the recipe out. They fell apart a little bit, but tasted great.

Sometimes...

It's okay to wear a naked face.

I've been told that I "have a thing for makeup." The penciled in eyebrows, the rep lipstick, the gold eyeshadow are an aesthetic I choose because I'm a very visual person. They are an extension of my creative side. However, I feel it's important to be at home in your own skin, stripped of the artifice. We are all human, full of beauty and flaws and ugliness.