In My Copious Free Time

Hurry up, Spring

Aside from the fact that it will be nice to be done with snow and ice for a while, what I am really looking forward to is wearing spring clothes. This weekend's work took me to DC where I had a successful couple of hours shopping on M Street in Georgetown. At BCBG Max Azria I found these two dresses:

Aside from the fact that they look great on, they both have pockets! BCBG has now secured a spot in my person list of favorite brands. The black dress on the right is just perfect - I could wear it to the office with a cardigan (the bodice is sheer, but there's a slip lining underneath) or to a party or nice dinner out.

I had similar good luck at Anthropologie. At the Georgetown shop (which I don't think I've ever been in), I got these two skirts (sorry the images are a bit blurry):

One of the things I love about the clothes Anthropologie carries is that they are beautifully detailed and unlike most things found in department and chain stores. But there's something about their detailing that reminds me of a bit of trivia about the making of "Gone With the Wind."  When an actress (the one playing Careen or SueEllen?) commented that there was no need to spend time and money making lace-trimmed petticoats and  crinolines because no one would know they were under the dresses, David O. Selznick reportedly responded, "But you'll know they are there." A typical lower-end skirt like this won't have any lining at all. Something more mid-range will have a lining, but it will be simple muslin or acetate, and more often than not, cut in a way that is barely functional. These skirts, like others I have from Anthropologie, are both exquisitely lined, with lining trimmed in matching lace.

Isn't that last one spring in skirt form?

I love the smell of a new magazine in fall

I've been a fashion magazine addict (and a magazine fan in general) for a very long time. The first leaves turning red are lovely, and that first day when the sky is clear and the humidity has vanished is a delight, but since I was about 12, nothing signaled "fall is coming!" for me quite like the heft of Seventeen magazine's back-to-school issue as I giddily pulled it out of my mailbox. Even now I love a thick stack of September issues - right now I have Bazaar, Vogue (US and UK - I'd have bought French Vogue if Borders had had it in stock), W, Vanity Fair, Elle, and Elle Accessories stacked next to the bed. Yes, they are mostly ads, and that's why I like them. I won't wax philosophical; I'll just say that high-end fashion ads are typically striking, often artistic, and sometimes inspirational. What I take away from an ad is sometimes the product being peddled, but often it is something somewhat incidental. For instance, if I pick up Elle Accessories, the first ad is for Guess shoes and handbags. Yes, silver is going to continue to be hot this fall (as will metallics in general), but what I see is that the model in one photo is wearing 4 of the hottest trends for fall makeup: thick, defined brows; winged eyeliner; red lips; and short, red nails.

I really started this because I wanted to record this feeling of nostalgia induced by a 2-pound magazine (I'm probably rounding up), but now that I've started flipping through Elle Accessories, I think I'll comment on a few ads...

Prada shoes - I'm not a huge fan of Prada, but these shoes are lovely, particularly the brown and toast colored ombre patent ones. (Actually it's degrade when when the dip-dye look isn't on fabric. Ombre is pretty hot this fall, too.) But the ad also shows glimpses of skirt and dress hemlines that appear to be covered in cassette tape fringe. Similar to a Bottega Veneta ad I saw recently with some very 20s, flapper-esque fringed dresses. But uglier. Intriguing, though. That's the weird thing about fashion -- even when it's ugly, it can still be captivating.

Shoe lust du jour

I. Want. These. Shoes.

big MAC attack

Disclaimer: I would not recommend visiting the MAC counter at your local department store on any Saturday afternoon during prom season.

Okay, that business out of the way, I went MACing today. I'd been wanting to check out the new color line (Strange Hybrid) and pick up a couple of the new SlimShine lipsticks. The entire cosmetics department was filled with teenage girls in updos and flip-flops, each with an entourage of friends waiting for their turn with a makeup artist. No problem - it gave me lots of time to play with different products and pick out what I wanted. I could tell I'd have to make a targeted strike, so I made a list of products as I went along. Finally I got the attention of my favorite MAC Guy and ran through the list with him. He said he'd never sold that many items in that little time. Efficiency, thy name is Tara.

The eyeshadows are most from the new color collection, Strange Hybrid.
Top row: Seedling, Rose Blanc, Moonflower
Bottom row: Vellum*, Floral Fantasy, Fertile, Zeal*
*From the regular color collection, not Strange Hybrid

I wasn't expecting to really love all 5 collection colors, but I did. Fertile is the perfect purpled black and will be great over my favorite plum-colored eyeliner (Victoria's Secret Very Sexy eye pencil in Exotic Plum). Floral Fantasy isn't as reddish on me and makes for a nice wash and not quite as cool as Lavender Sky. Rose Blanc - where did they get this name as it isn't rose or white? - is a nice soft gold, great on lower lids and not as white as Nylon. Seedling is a beautiful true taupe and I just couldn't resist it as it will go with just about everything. Yikes, I should probably buy another one. (The curse of the limited edition.) Moonflower is an unusual purchase for me as I don't do blues. But this green-blue surprised me -- the eyeshadow I had on was a combination of smoky gray/black shades and I layered Moonflower on in the crease and it just popped.

The bottom two Lip Glasses are from the Strange Hybrid collection as well, colorways Cultured and Prize Petal. The lipgloss at the top is Chromaliving from the ChromeGlass collection.

SlimShine is a new MAC lipstick formulation - very glossy and sheer. I bought (left to right) Bare, Most Wanted, and Scant.

The last photo is an older purchase, but one I haven't taken out of the box until now. It's from the Barbie Loves MAC collection from late winter. Note the Barbie silhouette debossed in the shadow itself. Adorable. This shade is Moth Brown, which is a stunning silvery taupe with the tiniest hint of shimmer. I should have bought a second since it's so pretty and as a limited edition, it's long gone.

WIWW

It's Wednesday, so here's what I'm wearing:

red wrap sweater
black tissue-weight top
winter white pants
red patent mary jane pumps with white piping
black beaded necklace with white silk-wrapped accents
Francesco Biasia Secret Love satchel in ice patent

WIWW

That's What I'm Wearing Wednesday. Since it's 4F right now, what I'm wearing isn't going to be all that exciting, but here's how I cope with the cold. In honor of Blogdorf Goodman's "wear your stash" challenge, I'm at least going to list makeup so that I can remember to wear something different next time. That'll really be a challenge since I have a bunch of new things I'm really loving.

black rib-knit top
black tie-front cardigan with hood
khaki Ann Taylor Loft cords
black mid-heel boots (for me, 2" is mid-heel)
black bamboo socks
black undergarments
matte gold key necklace

Dr. Brandt's Pores No More pore minimizing lotion
Smashbox Photo Finish foundation primer
Kinearase Under Eye Rescue
L'Oreal Revitalift moisturizing lotion, SPF 15
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat highlighter (under eyes)
Vincent Longo Liquid Canvas Dew Finish foundation*
Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil loose powder
Benefit 10 blusher/bronzer duo**
MAC Paint eyeshadow base, Bare Canvas
Urban Decay eyeshadow, Sin
MAC eyeshadows, Innuendo, Satin Taupe
(one all-over layer of Sin, brush over with Innuendo, Satin Taupe in/just above crease)
Stila Convertible Eye Color pencil, Stone
Benefit High Brow brow highlighter
L'Oreal Colour Juice lipgloss, Passion Fruit Squeeze
Chanel Glossimer lipgloss, Glitter (shimmery layer over the nude base)
Cartier Baiser du Dragon eau du parfum

This probably sounds very time consuming, but it isn't. It takes no more than a minute to prep my skin for foundation, and it wouldn't take that long if it weren't for the fact that the primer needs to set just a bit. Foundation and blush takes just a minute, I can do my eyes in 3 minutes, and lips take only seconds. (That doesn't mean that it always goes that quickly. Sometimes I dawdle. :))

*I've started just using foundation on the center of my face where my coloring is the most uneven. Then I dust some powder all over and the effect isn't bad at all. The Vincent Longo is such a good color match that I'm able to do this without a lot of effort in blending and with no visible line.

**Benefit 10 is half blush, half bronzer. Rather than swirling a brush over them, you run a brush straight across, depositing blush on one half, bronzer on the other. Then you apply with the blush half towards the top of the cheekbones and the bronzer half on the bottom. Foolproof, even for me.

Endless Love

The digital monolith that is Amazon, the biggest, baddest Bad Influence of them all, has launched a shoe and handbag specialty site. Endless features FREE overnight shipping, free return shipping, 365-day returns, 110% price guarantee and a hefty list of brands from which to choose.

All that is great, right? Well, it ain't nothin' compared to this site's real genius. Endless has a interface that is...I really don't have words to describe it. It's that good. Want a pair of shoes? You can refine your search in any number of ways. Want to look for boots? Great - select boots. But what if you just want black or grey boots? Click on those colors to refine your search. You say BCBG Max Azria and Bandolino are your favorite lines? Narrow it to just find boots from those makers. Oh, and narrow it down to your size so it doesn't show you anything that won't fit you.

Another amazing thing about the site is its images. Mouse over the image of a shoe or bag. Instantly you get a zoom image that floats based on where you mouse. No pop-up windows for detailed views; no slowly-resolving zoom-ins. It is incredible.

Of course, I haven't ordered anything from them yet. (Give me a break, I've already done a lot of shopping lately and they just launched two days ago.) I think I did manage to BI someone into a handbag I found on the site, though. And I'm not sure when I will order something -- I might just so I can see what their service is like. But it's mighty hard to ignore the call of my 14% cash back through Lucky Rewards from Zappos.

Go forth and shop.

Shoe Lust Revisited

As Jillian correctly pointed out, a bit of red sole was visible in the shoe picture in this post. The red sole is the "signature" of one of the hottest names in the shoe industry, French designer Christian Louboutin. The shoes are $595 and are available at Barney's online. (Ha! Now the shoe is on the home page!)

But cute mary jane pumps can be had at far less exorbitant prices. Here are a couple of prime choices:

On the left is BCBGirls' Titta pump, available also in red patent. It retails for $97.95.
On the right is Kenzie's Cobb pump. The above is actually patent, though the small image doesn't give that impression. It is also available in black patent with black leather piping, but this version isn't nearly as attractive as either the grey or the BCBGirls black with white trim. It retails for $80 at Piperlime, the fledgling shoe shop Gap started this past fall. I can't say I'm a big fan of Piperlime -- they have some nice shoes and some nice search features, but their brand selection isn't that great.

Shoe Lust

What's not to love? Patent, green, mary jane, peep toe. Such a beautiful spring shoe.

Can you guess who makes it? (only cheaters Google)

I [heart] the internet

I missed the boat on Chanel Black Satin nail polish, which sold out pretty quickly when introduced late this summer. Since it is the hottest shade of the hottest trend in nails -- dark, short nails -- I was of course intrigued. I had tried OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark, which is terrific, but a little purple-y. I wanted black, and none of the other brands I tried were cutting it -- everything was too gray or too dull or too sheer. What to do? I certainly wasn't going to take the ebay route. No $18 bottle of nail polish is worth $60. (Yes, it regularly fetches anywhere from $40-$60.)

But then I read in a beauty blog that Chanel was making another batch. The next night I stopped by the Chanel counter at Macy's and had the following conversation:

Me: I heard you're going to be getting more Black Satin in.
Chanel Chick: (eyebrows up) Where did you hear that?
Me: On the internet.
CC: Really? (eyebrows up even more)
Me: Yeah, I heard another batch was being produced.
CC: (leaning in conspiratorially) Well...we aren't supposed to tell anyone, but we should have more in in November.

So they put me on the call list and the call finally came in yesterday. So this is what I'll be applying tonight after I finish packing: