copycat
Thursday, April 28, 2011 • Ann Taylor Factory, LOFT, OOTD
Ok I have to admit straight up that I stole the idea for this outfit from a WAY more fashionable blog (& blogger), i am Khatu. I think I set an even more unrealistic goal for myself than usual because not only does she have a banging closet she's small, cute, and petite.
And I am none of these things.
Still with the cooler weather that hit DC earlier this week I couldn't resist trying out a look I fell in love with on her blog. Simple but beautiful, it's a way to rock the white pant no matter what season it is.
~ Sweater: Ann Taylor Factory ~ Wide Legged Pants: LOFT (last year) ~ Black Pumps: T.J. Maxx ~
If you're wondering why I didn't tuck the pants in, to create a longer leg line? It's cause my abdomen is not up to the task and luckily I'm just tall enough to rock this anyway.
~ Trench: Jones New York (thrifted) ~
i don't know what possessed me
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
to think I needed this lipgloss
but I do have to admit
I LOVE it.
Chanel Brilliant Extreme Glossmer, 149 Nakkar
everything deserves a try right?
Monday, April 25, 2011 • Makeup
Presenting...drum roll please....my first pair of colored contact lenses!! I ordered these from PinkyParadise.com (review on that order coming soon) and I've got to say I was pleasantly surprised with the effect. Now with this pair in particular I have to say that for some reason the left lens is really irritating. I don't know if it's the size or that on lens specifically, but it's just not the most comfortable. I get a few hours of wear with it and then I begin to feel like I'm blinking too much or twitching like I'm crazy. Though I do have to say that at least my eye never got red; it felt irritated but it never looked anything but normal.
The pair I'm wearing here I think are Adult Geos in Violet - I have to check that - but either what matters is it is defintiely a fun way to put a little something different into your look. I had ordered these to be my more 'wow' pair for Dragon*Con but actually they're pretty subtle in daylight. Inside the Roomie says they give off kind of the Elizabeth Taylor Effect but the general enlargement and opaqueness of the lenses is not overwhelming.
I don't know how I feel about the lenses with this eye combo though. I figured since it was a Saturday and I could I would go for broke and do this cool look that I saw BabylovesPow do on YouTube. As usual I didn't have the exact colors that she used but the best part about makeup is that you can always make do and create a look that's uniquely your own just by substituting products that you do have on hand. Plus I was looking for a reason to use my new Inglot shadows (the coral color below). Still it's bright even for me, especially with the teal color on the lid. Do I hate it? No. Do I love it? Not really. But it was a chance I took and sometimes you just never know until you try - even if it's only ever to be seen inside the confines of your room :)
Products Used:
~~UDPP
~~Inglot eyeshadow in 366 (I can't get my pan out >.< but I think this is what it is)
~~MAC eyeshadow in Graphology
~~Wet n Wild, Blue Had Me At Hello palette, teal color
~~Giorgio Armani Maestro eye liner 1
~~Mascara (sorry I don't remember which one)
Dear Person Raining on my Parade
Thursday, April 21, 2011
I hate the gym. I HATE IT. I go due to my own issues and insecurities about my body. Issues that are only slightly being alleviated by my time there. I never feel good afterward - only tired - and right now only my roommate's comment of improvement keeps me going. With that said:
1) Just because we are both relatively young women of color does not make it ok to comment on how I'm doing my routine.
2) You stopping my set to comment on my routine only extends the amount of time I give to an activity I loathe.
3) Telling me randomly that I should add more weight to increase resistance because the machine is making more noise than you like does not help me. Instead it causes me to feel worse and even more like what I'm doing is a waste of time, even though you, as a random person, have shown no credentials as to why your opinion should carry any weight.
So yes, Person Raining on my Parade, thanks for making my afternoon THAT MUCH BETTER. I don't know what I would have done without your 'help'.
1) Just because we are both relatively young women of color does not make it ok to comment on how I'm doing my routine.
2) You stopping my set to comment on my routine only extends the amount of time I give to an activity I loathe.
3) Telling me randomly that I should add more weight to increase resistance because the machine is making more noise than you like does not help me. Instead it causes me to feel worse and even more like what I'm doing is a waste of time, even though you, as a random person, have shown no credentials as to why your opinion should carry any weight.
So yes, Person Raining on my Parade, thanks for making my afternoon THAT MUCH BETTER. I don't know what I would have done without your 'help'.
Now it's time for the stuff I was really excited to see at the Japanese Street Festival: the costumes.Oh my goodness the costumes. Not the legendary stuff that you see at cons such as Dragon*Con, but a notable effort by most anyway. Though I guess it's not that surprising when you realize that the street festival is probably one of the few avenues where people can dress as Goth/Lolita/Anime/Sci-Fi as they want and no one will question them.
I, in fact, wanted to where my Yukata SO BADLY to this thing since I wouldn't get any weird looks (for once), but it was just too darn cold. And unlike those festival princesses I did not have enough devotion to the cause to wear it anwyay. I am a chicken. I do no like to be cold.
Still let's admire some of the people who did go balls to the wall with some great stuff!
Nice Goth inspired showing
I have no idea who this guy is trying to be but LOOK at this hair. I love it.
Super cute kimono-esque outfit made out of butterfly fabric
Cyber-Goths were out in FORCE and had by far the best costumes.
Inu-Yasha! Love these 2 with their masks and full body costumes.
Those are unfortunately some of the only costume pictures I took this year. See when you're at a con you feel it's much less weird to ask 'can I take your picture?' - it's almost something cosplayers want to have happen because they've worked so hard on their costumes. Here people were just walking around doing their thing and I almost felt like taking their pictures would imply that they're dressing up to put on a show, a display - and not just doing it because it spoke to them.
But I have been told a time or two I think too much so who knows.
Look forward to my next post though as we get back to makeup and my first ever pair of CIRCLE LENSES!
ASOS Haul II
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
So....yeah. I didn't take pictures this time mostly because I was feeling really really lazy and the process of taking pictures of failed clothing tries is long and involved. Instead I decided just to say screw it and filmed a video! Hope you enjoy!
Items Mentioned:
1.ASOS Chiffon Ruffle Blouse (Mink, $28.69)
2. ASOS Hooded Military Cape (All colors, $64.55 - WTF?! Totally making a liar out of me ASOS!)
3. ASOS Jersey Grecian Max (All colors, $25.10)
Ok dammit now the stupid cape is $64! What do we think? Should I try it a size or 2 smaller? Or is just not cute enough on me to warrant the time and expense? HELP!
Japan in DC. That's totally the same right?
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Well ok. To be completely honest I don't need anyone out there in internet land to tell me that they're NOT the same. At all. But until I have the necessary funds to front a (tentatively) 3 week whirlwind tour of East Asia, I'm going to have to accept that cultural fests like this are about as close as I'm gonna get.
Luckily they still have cool things to offer!
I think these were some festival 'princesses' (ps it was WAAY too cold for these outfits but here they are staying strong!)
Kendo (of some kind - I forget the specific style)
Loved these drummers!
A traditional Okinawan performance
Cute!
This was the last performance I caught of the day and they were so skilled and very impressive with their attention to detail in regards to this form of the archery.
Congrats Lou Lou! (also known as my roomie rocks)
Friday, April 15, 2011
So for all those currently in (or out) of DC, let me tell you something. Yesterday was a big day. Yesterday my roommate took managerial duties at her very first store! Lou Lou Boutiques just opened up it's latest location in the heart of Georgetown - and things are already doing fine.
I mean who can resist? It's right at Wisconsin and N St NW, next to Papyrus and the Daily Grill.
Plus, unlike some of those other stores in Georgetown (*cough* Urban Outfitters *cough* Anthropolgie *cough*) you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get something cute there! My biggest indulgence is probably their $10 earrings. So easy, so cute it's almost impossible to resist. Though I guess I should probably start limiting myself once I actually run out of peg space on my new cork board...
Why, are those butterflies I see? Look away Dana - look away!
See how big this location is?
I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again - I love this bag! It comes it different colors of leather and it's so perfect for summer!
I love the iron decoration near the window in the back.
Look at the owl! So cute!
Everybody needs sunglasses ;)
CONGRATULATIONS LOU LOU!
So don't miss out guys - a store only gets 1 first grand opening (right?)! Also, don't forget the most favoritest of social medias (at least when they're not changing things) Facebook.
Cherry Blossom Festival (prequel)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
I think that since tomorrow's post is going to be about some of the favorite things I saw at the Cherry Blossom Festival, today can be about what I wore - cause that's not strange right?
Though let me say it was really annoying to have to find a cute outfit for a cloudy, cold, overcast day in the middle of APRIL.
~ Shirt: Forever21+ ~ Skirt: GAP ~ Leggings: Forever21+ ~ Boots: Steve Madden ~
~ Cameo: Eastern Market ~ Pearl Bracelet: online somewhere ~ Mixed stone bracelet: roomie ~
Stila Smudge pot in little black dress
I'm really trying to find a liner that doesn't smudge (HAH! Smudge pot that doesn't smudge. Get it?) for me on the outer corners and I think the Stila smudge pot may be a winner. This is from the Barbie collection so it's black with pink glitter, but you get the idea right?
Sometimes I do makeup just because I want to. I have a look in my head that speaks to me and so without any rhyme or reason I pull out products and try to make it happen. Luckily this turned out to be one of those times that everything worked out just as I wanted it to :)
Products Used:
~~Wet n Wild Mega Liner in 863 (Turquoise?)
~~Stila Smudge Pot in electric blue
Sakura Matsuri!
Friday, April 8, 2011
So if for some reason I haven't made it clear before, I live in DC. And right now we're coming up on the *DUH DUH DUUUUH* last weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Which guarantees that every mode of public transportation is going to be clogged with tourists, half the escalators won't work, and there will be even more people to ignore the 'right stand, left walk' rule - cause it's a RULE people!
On the bright side though on Saturday the Smithsonian is hosting the Sakura Matsuri, aka the Cherry Blossom Festival. Know what hearing the word matsuri makes me think of ? Anime. Why? All because of a little show called Blue Seed.
<-- See what I did there? It's a pic of the anime and Cherry Blossom flowers. Nice.
Blue Seed is an anime from my youth, my highschool years to be exact, and one that I loved. I mean it's just an extension of every romance book I enjoy, as you have the young, naive but determined, heroine fighting bad guys all while trying to fight her attraction to the quintessential 'bad boy'. What's not to love? So today I decided to use some blog space and post one of my favorite scenes from the show.
Enjoy and Happy Sakura Matsuri!
An inspired look - Meg from Hercules
Thursday, April 7, 2011 • Makeup
First let me say that I don't know how anyone attempts to do a Disney look ever! Disney characters, by their very nature, are out of this world and overblown, so unless you're Kandee Johnson or a few other YouTube gurus, it's not easy at all to replicate.
So instead, after some trial and error, I decided to go with an 'inspired' look. I scoured the web for images and after putting eyebrows to the side, I knew my biggest challenge was going to be the shape of Meg's eyes. She has the very particular half moon shape, one where the shadow/eye/whatever was almost pulled outward at the outside corners.
Obviously my eyes don't do that.
But like a lot of people do everyday, you can mimic different eye shapes - and it's a bit easier with the help of a cut crease. After applying my UDPP I used the NYX eye pencil in Purple to gradually outline the shape that I wanted, a shape I would be following with eyeshadow later. After making the general outline I used a MAC 219 brush (it's a pencil brush) to start buffing out the line so it would less harsh, creating both a base for my final crease color and a place for the eyeshadow to stick to.
Next I took an Essence of Beauty crease brush from CVS and started applying MAC's Fig. 1 eyeshadow to my crease and outer corner of my eye. I would take bits at a time, lightly apply it across the eyeliner, and then take an e.l.f. blender brush to buff out harsh edges - it's a time consuming but not that hard, process. Finally though once I had that done I knew the next would be easier. I used the Sephora flashy liner to fill in the rest of my lid and then a flat shader brush to pack on the purple from the Cargo palette. I used the Sephora kohl liner to line both my tight and water lines, because I didn't think lining my eye all the around would be that flattering with this look. On me anyway it *really* closes off my eye and is not attractive. Plus I decided to turn this into an inspired look which means I get to take liberties :)
Finally I used my GA liner to create a very winged cat eye look (which I love) and applied a couple coats of Rimmel mascara. And that's it! (Oh except for a quick swipe of matte highlight shade on the brow. I picked one a few shades lighter than my skin tone and made sure to blend out the edges)
Lips I used a nice satin-finish red lipstick with liner to create the signature red lip that Meg wears throughout the movie. I used one with cooler undertones (it makes your teeth look whiter) but really whatever looks best on you is what you should go for.
Products Used:
~~UDPP
~~NYX eye pencil in 917 purple
~~Sephora flashy liner in 03 flashy mauve
~~Sephora kohl liner in 01 keep black
~~Giorgio Armani Maestro liner 1
~~Mac eyeshadow Fig. 1
~~Cargo Barcelona palette, purple eyeshadow
~~Tarte matte highlight eyeshadow from 2010 Holiday Set
~~Rimmel MAX Volume Flash mascara in 003 extreme black
Lips:
~~Smashbox Doubletake Lip Color in Cranberry, liner only
~~NYX round lipstick in Chaos
So yeah. This is my wearable take on Meg's look. Hopefully the friend who requested it isn't disappointed - just know that if you wanna take it a bit more dramatic and pull the liner out into a longer cat eye you'd look even MORE like Meg!
How about Banana Republic?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Here's a coupon to save 35% off two full priced items - but only today (4/5)! Use promo code VB4C7TBYCVVM at checkout. Free shipping on $50 or more!
Don't miss out on Ann Taylor's FRIENDS & FAMILY sale! 30% off your entire purchase and free shipping online when you spend $100 or more. This works for Ann Taylor LOFT as well :)
and 'spring' is upon us - with all its wonderfully rainy snowy glory
Monday, April 4, 2011 • Forever21+, OOTD, Steve Madden
So last week - at least for us DCers - the weather wasn't exactly anything I'd call spring-like. It was cold, rainy, and even had a chance of snow; which, as you can imagine, was a bit of a bummer.
Really I'm just saying that as a preface to an outfit that while being posted in April looks nothing like spring :-/
scarf and coast from Forever 21 ~ boots from Steve Madden
dress from H&M ~ leggings from Forever 21
earrings from Forever 21 ~ bracelet from Eastern Market
Oh and sorry I don't do more 'outfit making' in terms of the completer piece. I get really warm in the office (at least right now) so cardigans are rarely what I'm thinking about at 6:30am.
sun in the morning
Friday, April 1, 2011 • American Eagle, Forever21+, Lou Lou, OOTD, teen flo, Torrid
teen flo blazer from TJ Maxx ~ top from Torrid ~ Forever21+ jeans ~ American Eagle flats ~ purse from Lou Lou in Dupont ~ necklace from a random store in Montgomery Mall ~ ring from Forever 21
And where would I be without a big pair of earrings?
earrings from a now closed Pier 1 in Bethesda (I think?)
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