style file

how often do you find yourself standing in front of your closet (and if you're me, you're running late) having pulled 1/3 of your clothes out onto your floor trying to figure out what to wear and having come to the conclusion that you HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!!!????

my roommates are always running around complaining that they have nothing to wear, and i know for a fact their closets are packed (because we routinely borrow this and that from each other) with super cute items!!

well, i have a solution... or a plan for a solution to this ever-present problem: a style file.

now, let's work backwards from that moment when you're exacerbated and mad yourself for feeling like you own not one suitable outfit: this most likely stems from not having a well thought out closet (a closet that has lots of clothes, but they don't mix and match each other, thus not a lot of options).

and why might you not have a well thought out closet? because you're not shopping with the end result (being able to quickly pull out an outfit you feel smashing in) in mind!! so if shopping's the root of the problem, let's do a deep dive (shiiiit: lame work terminology) into shopping patterns.

now, when you go to the grocery store, you most likely take a list? i certainly do, because if i don't, i end up buying a bunch of junk food (can you say gushers and teddy grahams??) that i don't need, and couldn't have told you i wanted BEFORE i entered the store, but now i'm stuck with all this junk, because i didn't have a list.

the same goes for clothes shopping! you need a list or else you're likely to leave the store with junk that gets you (and your closet) nowhere!

but how do you know WHAT to put on that list?? well, let's start with that inevitable moment when you cry out, "I have nothing to wear!!"

I suggest literally keeping a list by your closet for you to write down what it is you're craving to put on, but don't own. To get it started now, think about your FAVORITE outfit that you always gravitate towards throwing on.

is it a great-fitting pair of jeans with a comfy loose-fitting top with a great print, but that's always dirty because you wear it at least once a week? guess what? YOU NEED ANOTHER. maybe not another pair of jeans, since jeans can be worn a few more times before needing to be washed, but you need more tops that you don't have to worry about feeling fat in.

now, i personally read fashion and beauty magazines. yes, it's a vice. however, it's probably the reason i'm writing this blog!! it all started in middle school because our fundraiser was a magazine drive every year. i had so many that i made the border around my bedroom walls covers of all the magazines i had accumulated. thus, i have been reading, studying and worshipping all things beauty and style related since my early adolescence.

because of this, one of the main ways i am inspired is through these glossy publications. so, i decided to put all of their great ideas to use for me, and started cutting and pasting.

cutting out outfits, styles, tips, products and looks that i want to buy, emulate, try to to just remember and pasting them into my very own STYLE FILE.
keep in mind, this is in addition to my my running list of things to buy: it's just more visually specific, (and pleassssing) and is more than just ideas i come up with, it's ideas from the experts. it started when i lived in my sorostitute house, hence the room 18, with my bestie, and continues today.


see that it's not only pieces of clothes or products that i want to buy in my style file- i'm putting in items that i think have flattering shapes, or are from a company that seems to make great clothes at a price i can afford, making more than just mental notes of places to shop, and items that i think i could incorporate into my wardrobe, i'm putting them in my style file!

it's also makeup looks that i'd like to try and recreate, be it a perfume advertisement that happens to have a model with an amazing shade of lipstick, or an actual beauty article about new eye shadow tips and tricks.

so start making your list of things you love and should probably own more of, taking note of things you see that you like, and soon, your wardrobe will become full of mixable matchable pieces so that you'll find yourself cursing the heavens in vain a whole lot LESS!

become a tan-in-a-can fan

so with the end of summer, comes the end of sunning ourselves outside. i, for one, will sorely miss basking in the glow of the hot summer sun for hours on end, drinking bloody marys and mimosas on our back porch... or in dupont circle... or on the skydeck... or at chet and adam's pool... or... is it just me or am i an alcoholic?? (don't answer that, mom.)

anyway, the only kind of addiction i'm aware of (achem, will admit to) is being a sunoholic. if you're addicted to SWEET SWEET VITAMIN D like i am, it's time to realize that youth is fleeting, tanning beds are SOOO 1999, and self-tanners are just so freakin' quality now that it's time to switch from the fake-n-bake to tan-in-a-can.

(and can we all just reflect on how happy we are science is taking time out of it's busy cancer-fighting schedule to come up with all these amazing new products?? i've said it before, and i'll say it again: thank you science, thank you.)

so, i've ixnayed the anningtay edbay for two winters now. that's right, i've forgone UVA and UVB rays for 1/4 of two consecutive years. where's my prize? oh, that's right. crows feet 3.5 months later than all you other year-round tannerexics. (i'm still working on my summer-sun addiction. i'll come around, i will… eventually.)

ok. so i've decided that my favorite, HANDS DOWN, drugstore brand when it comes to faux tanning products is L'Oreal. I love their tanning towellettes.

They are SUPER easy to use. One towel does your whole body, so you never end up too orange or streaky.

I always start with my chest and shoulders then do my legs from the feet up, then my arms, then my back, then my tummy (kind of my skin, in order of appearance). The towelettes are the juiciest (like I sidestepped the need for the word moist?... whoops) in the beginning, which is why I start where I want the most color. Before it feels completely dried up, I make sure to do a quick swipe on my face, but definitely don’t start with that because this product is only marketed for the body… but I’ve never had an adverse reaction. It dries really quickly, so you don’t have to wait around in your bathroom for any more time than it takes to apply! I’ve also never seen it in any color but medium, but I’ve seen this color look great on people of lots of different skin tones.

The first L’Oreal self tanning product I ever purchased (and kept me coming back for more) was the bronze tinted self-tanning lotion, which I love because you get a little darker and slightly sparkly when you apply it, so I would always use it after I got out of the shower the night OF an event. This way, your skin’s a little sparkly, and you just get more and MORE tan as the night goes on. Obvious downside is that if you do a sloppy job applying it (can you say preformal sophomore year??) you can get streakier and streakier as the night goes on, because this product has the consistency of a thin lotion, so, it will streak if you don’t apply it evenly. However, since it’s bronzed, you can see where you’re applying it, so it’s not hard to keep if from streaking.

Now, I’ve never been one to do something halfway… so when I tried this last weekend it instantly became my new JAM: the L’Oreal bronzer self-tanning lotion, which takes “a little sparkly” to the next level… so, I guess that would be, “legit sparkly.” I was instantly tan and sparkled all night… downsides were that it took a little longer to dry and when I was sweating at the gym the next day, it totally pooled at my elbows and came off on my towel… but that’s to be expected to a certain extent with tan-in-a-can lotions.

if you’re more about using a daily lotion that builds your tan gradually, but doesn’t have insta-bronzers that will embarrass you at the gym, my mom turned me on to nivea build a tan lotion. It comes out a golden color, works really well, and smells a lot better than other tanning lotions I’ve tried… but still a wee little bit like a tanning lotion.

we'll talk about getting spray tanned later... that's a whole 'nother ball game.

so, if you're like most people who look better with a tan (there are VERY few marcia crosses or dita von teeses out there) then go get some products and have yourself a few naked hours in your bathroom so that you don't have to get the pale winter blues this year!!

and guess what else tan-in-a-can is great for? pretending to be tan in allllllll those places you NEVER get tan. goodbye cellulite, hellllllllo tan ass. slip something risque and enjoy it! your ass won't be this tan until... next winter!

magiclinique

Clinique print commercials are usually just beauty shots of their makeup, rather than of beautiful women wearing their makeup, did you ever notice that?



Mee likey!

I feel like their choice to put just their products in front of the camera is an over-arching statement about Clinique in general; that they're taking responsibility for what messages they're willing to put out into the world via their advertising. OK, now I'll slide my soapbox back under my bed...

Why I bring up Clinique?? Simple. Their eye-makeup remover.

I was very loyal to the Maybelline kind (especially after they fixed their lids from screw-tops to flip tops circa 2003, so that I didn't end up spilling half the bottle all over the bathroom) but then I had an unfortunately incident with waterproof mascara (I don't want to TALK about it) last week, and my roommate, sp8, let me use some of her Clinique.

Needless to say, I was skeptical, because I basically worshipped the Maybelline version (I have been using it since middle school, seriously) until I swiped the Clinique over my eyes and the felt the smooth combination of oil and water 100% dissolve the most stubborn waterproof mascara I had ever worn, right off my eyes!!!

No scrubbing, no burning, no nothin' but magic in a bottle.

The main difference, I assume, is that the Clinique kind I used was not oil free, while the Maybelline was. However, it didn't irritate my eyes in the least, as ones with oil usually do (Clinique is known for being gentle and all). They have a few different kinds of eye makeup removers, but this "purple" version is the most popular (read: best of the best).

Now, I did some math (yeah, that's right, I math) and the Clinique is twice as expensive as the Maybelline, at just over $4 per ounce vs. just over $2 per ounce. So, depending on your budget, (WWPPD) I could totally see using the Maybelline on an everyday basis and just keeping a small or travel size Clinique around for those really caked on morning-afters.

... And one little afterthought: make sure you're not using waterproof mascara EVERY day. There's no need... unless you have oddly moist (ew, does ANYone like that word?) peepers.

Waterproof mascara dries out your lashes, and as illustrated previously, is really hard to get off!! So you end up with it on for days on end- which is just a breeding ground for bacteria. Wear it to weddings, and to the beach if you're so inclined, but otherwise, steer clear!!