On Saturday I delved deep into the world of make-up by exploring the magical store of Sephora. Not being a make up girl myself I usually find this store scary but my friend Kendra at Random Acts Babble held my hand as I explored the world of makeup.
This exploration started with my Journey into Makeup post. But then I read the March issue of Elle Magazine. In the article The Cover-Up by Claire Gutierrez (sorry couldn't find link to article). She wrote that her face had always been the same and she didn't know how to change it; she had never really learned... me too. Minus other people have doing my makeup I had never changed my face, maybe more or less mascara. For the most part I really connected with this author. But the piece that got to me was when she quoted a psychology study at Harvard University, where they studied people's immediate reactions to women barefaced and varying levels of makeup were more likely to perceived as amiable, trustworthy, and competent. "Even women who opted for glamorous looks were perceived as more competent than those who, like me, favor a natural look."
my younger sister and I
close up
As I have already admitted I am not a big makeup person. Since I was a teenager people have always thought I was younger than I was. People always thought my younger sister, who discovered the world of makeup before me, was the older one. And no matter how many times my mom says I will like looking young when I am 40, it didn't help when I was 16 and it doesn't really help now. I don't want to look older than I am but I do want to want to look my age. I also want to look competent and trustworthy. So if this means makeup than I am willing to explore this world.
I don't know if I begged, or casually brought up my desperation for make up to my friend Kendra but we made a date for yesterday to go shopping. I got a little make over which was lots of fun. I asked for a natural look that and I could easily repeat at home. I also knew that brown eye shadows brought out blue eyes but I love pink or I wanted a good combo. The woman who did my make over found a great palate for my eyes (Lorac unzipped).
Some of the make up
Half way through the make over...
my lovely makeup artist in the background
Close up of my eyes...sorry for the weird expression
After she had finished my eyes she worked on my lips (Laura Mercier) then she took me around the store and showed me a nice foundation that was a little darker than my skin to give me a little glow. Sephora made a pretty penny off of me but it was fun to invest in myself a little bit.
my eyelids somewhat shut.
at the Gap
my eyes and my lips
Now it is my turn to play around with all of it as I explore this world of makeup and of growing up.
Like most Bostonians we get excited when when we hear the word "spring", rather it be spring training for our lovely Red Sox team, or Spring Break for our college students. It means soon the harsh realities of winter will be over and while this winter hasn't been that harsh it will be nice when the days of grey and black are over, when the sun will be out past 5, and a scarf will be an accessory not mandatory. For me the word Spring Fashion puts a little bounce in my step. While I love the September Vogue, the textbook of fashion, I love spring fashion even more. So I am pleased to announce that yesterday when I got my mail the March Elle magazine was sitting box. Th magazine announced it was full of almost 500 pages of spring fashion. It was a nice little gift.
I feel like this is my year's fashion it is full of pencil skirts, nipped waist jackets, pastels and cute little heels.
I took these pics of my magazine
The author, Daphne Merkin, wrote that "for spring, demure '50s-influenced dresses...dominated the runways.'What's old is new again' is, of course, a theme of every fashion season, but the revival of the sublimely feminine silhouette is as much a reflection of a cultural moment as the by-product of that depends of reinvention." In the article Merkin seemed to be concerned that if we went back toward 1950s style that we would convert to that mindset when she writes "Does dressing like Doris Day in A-line or pleated skirt mean to go around batting our eye lashes and acting all helpless?" But I liked the quote from designer Jason Wu, "I feel that right now is an uncertain time and there's something about a polished, dressed up look that's a nice contrast. When times are challenging, the one thing you can control is the way you look."
While reading this article it was hard not to think about my own fashion. I may not embrace the total 1950s look. I would like to have a little more chic and polished look to my style. I think I want to blend together Rory Gilmore, the college years, some Zooey Deschnel from her look of 500 day of Summer and maybe something more modern.
But I am excited for pastels to be coming back into wardrobes. While I love wearing colors I think some times I stick out like a sore thumb around other girls who wear black and grey.
Color changes Everything-Target's newest ad
Good way to explain how I feel.
I think a mass Target run is in my future or maybe I will become a TJ Maxx kind of girl as I try to blend a want of fashion into a Grad's schools student budget.
As mentioned in part 1 of my weekend away (click here) I had a six hour drive to upstate New York. During these six hours besides taking some naps I flipped through and read articles from the September Vogue that I wrote about my love for on Thursday it is 758 pages and I am sure my cat who is 7 pounds probably weigh the same. There was an article about a woman survived the 9/11 attacks. It was a reflection of how she survived even though she was burnt over 82% of her body. It was very powerful to hear about how she at first struggled to survive for her son then when she found out how many people died in the attack she pushed to survive for all those people.
To read about the way she suffered and had to go through to survive... I hope to never have to go through that but it did remind me of my Sept. 11th experience. I was on the west coast in ninth grade and it was a late day and my mom woke me up. I tried to tell her that it was a late day and I didn't have to get up but she told that the World Center had been attacked and I should come watch, it was history. When I got to her room I looked at the TV and saw only one tower. I asked her what happened... she told me the tower had fallen. I didn't understand. What did she mean fallen. Then we watched the second tower fall and since then we have all experienced the aftermath. Now I didn't live on the east coast so I am not going to pretend what I know what it was like to experience it first hand. I was just a high school student who until then didn't understand how some one could hate Americans so bad they would kill innocent people. I was only a girl during Desert Storm and I didn't even know where Afghanistan was, and Osama Bin Laden was not even a name I knew. I think then I was just trying to understand high school. But my mom understood what was happening. I missed school that day. She was afraid San Francisco would be attacked and she didn't want me out of her sight. She told me my step-dad and her had come up with a plan that if San Francisco was attacked we would load up our SUV drive till we got to our house in the desert and stay there. My step-dad wouldn't be able to come, he worked in television and would have to stay in San Francisco to cover any news that happened. I know my mom has probably looked scared in her life but I don't remember her ever looking scared and brave all at the same moment. To know what had to be done if the worst happened but still not wanting to do it.
San Francisco was not attacked, we did not have to leave and I know my life would be very different had it been... I am glad I don't have to figure how differently it would be.
I know we have a few more weeks till the actual 10 year anniversary of 9/11 but this article made me think about that day. I know more stories will come out and more blog post will be written about this and I look forward to reading them.
I have times I love like Christmas, my birthday, the first time I wear flip flops with out freezing, my first pedicure of the summer, the first Pumpkin spice donut of the fall, and when the September Vogue comes out.
This is one of those days... I have stalked book stores, magazine racks and finally I went into CVS to buy some packing tape and there it was sitting in the center of the magazine rack I saw it the first thing as I came into the store. The SEPTEMBER VOGUE issue. I can't wait to dive into it. I have a road trip this weekend and I plan to take it with me.
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