Well it turns out that white pants are hard to take pictures of when it's just you and a tripod, lol. I had all these safe pictures where I'm standing in the shade, yadda yadda yadda, but I just liked these better. So please excuse the blown out ISO levels, my bad, lol.

On my eternal quest to look preternaturally perfect while the summer humidity makes my life a living hell, I decided that I needed (wanted) a "wet look" eye product. Cream, gloss, the exact formula wasn't something I had nailed down when I went into Nordstrom, but the overall effect.

And since I am a creature of habit and have long loved most things Charlotte Tilbury, I quickly got sucked in by the CT counter and after a delightful swatch session and chat with one of their reps, found my product.

From the Charlotte Tilbury website...

"Captivate the room in just one glance with my Eyes To Mesmerise Cream Eye Shadow pots – a clever cream-to-sheen formula that creates maximum impact with minimum effort. Simply add a sheer wash of color with your fingertip for a flattering finish for day, or add drama for evening by applying with my Eye Blender Brush for high-impact, high-shine lids. It’s the ultimate foolproof product and forms part of my One-Minute No-Mirror Makeup.

Choose from six lustrous shades for an instant molten smokey eye that lasts. Bette is a rich, burnished, amber-gold tone designed to recreate those famous and powerful Bette Davis eyes. Pair it with The Classic eyeliner powder pencil in Sophia for an elegant smokey effect that’s softer than black. "


I think Amber-Gold is a much better description than Nordstrom's "warm, burnished chocolate" (chocolate? What chocolate looks like this?) . On my lids Bette is a warm, non-yellow gold with just a touch of glitter - the most sophisticated, never falls down on your face - glitter. It's easy to apply with fingers or a brush, though in either instance I like using a stiffer fluffy brush to buff out the edges. It's beautiful by itself or under eyeshadow, where it does an incredible job at intensifying any shimmer shadow I put on top. Completely by itself I saw a little creasing after 5 or so hours on a really humid day, but with a thin layer of concealer or primer down first it's pretty much fool-proof.

And look what I have for you - a somewhat unimpressive close up of my eyes!


For as little product as I need to use for every look, I imagine this little pot will be around for years or until it expires, whichever comes first. Well worth the $32!

Sometimes you fall in love with a dress and just know that it's something special. That even if you only wear it a few times each season, it's worth it, because of how it makes you feel. I'm incredibly thankful that when I came across one such dress, Ali of Heliantha Photography (who's on Instagram too!) was kind enough to venture out into the wilderness with me to shoot it.


It's a little terrifying to have pictures taken by someone new and without my usual armor (sunglasses), but it was also amazing to get the finals back and be so happy with how they turned out. I'm not going to say I can look at all of them and not have my brain go into its little nitpicking spiral of poopheaddom, but I'm working on being kinder to myself and any steps forward are good ones in my book.


Fit Note: This dress runs a little big, I'm assuming because it's very flowy and kind of oversized by design, so I'm comfortably wearing a size Medium. It's also only lined on the bottom, so I'm wearing these for some additional coverage up top.

This dress isn't actually fulfilling any of the missing spots in my wardrobe right now (potentially linen tops, more summer pants that aren't jeans) but I love it and made a somewhat emotional purchase I don't think I'll regret later :).

This is one of those rare "is this outfit worth posting?" posts. It was overcast and chilly this past weekend, and I gravitated to the comfiest pieces in my closet right now.

I'm not sure I'll ever be the heels-with-boyfriend-jeans kind of person, it doesn't feel very me, but with loafers and a mid-weight jacket I felt put together enough.


Fit Note: I sized down to a Medium in this coat, and probably would prefer that size across the board at Eileen Fisher.

The March/April transition turned out to be a bit more of a problem than I had anticipated. My search for wide legged crop pants led me to buying a pair March 3rd, but what I had originally thought was going to mean a slight push of my no-buy into April, turned into a general failure of the plan, lol. So instead of feeling like I'd messed up my third month in, I embraced that March was going to be another month where I could buy the pieces that fit my closet/style, and moved my no-buy to April.

A lot of the bloggers I follow who've done capsule wardrobes in the past have talked about how the feeling of "failure" began to grate on them during the exercise. I don't want to dwell in this feeling that I "messed up" during my no-buy months, so in March I made that work for me, continued to purge pieces that felt unnecessary to my life now, and used April as a time to explore my Spring style.

1. White Wide Leg Pants - I'd been on the hunt for these for a little while, especially since both the Kamm and the Everlane versions don't come large enough in size to fit me. After my success with the Vince pants I had a brand starting off point, and while they're linen and a little prone to wrinkling, the fit is on point for Spring/Summer.

2. Chambray Dress - a some spur of the moment purchase of Marine Layer, I loved that it was a bit shorter than my usual, thus it can (hypothetically) be tucked in if I wanted. Before definitively keeping it I also experimented with it over black jeans and leggings, with and without booties, which helped me see the versatility of the tunic/dress when paired with things I already own. I also loved that it's made responsibly, even if that isn't a cornerstone of all my buying practices.

3. White Jumpsuit - I love(d) this jumpsuit from Anthropologie, and my only regret is that after wearing it twice it developed a random hole in the MIDDLE of the leg. Poop. Poop on all the things. So this was a purchase but also a return.

4. F21 Dress - Ok, this I regret only because I bought #8 down there, fucking up April simultaneously. It's still a cute dress though, and hopefully I can get enough wears out of both this summer to not make it a complete fail.

5. Denim Shirt - A replacement for one that was coming apart at the seams under the arm. No regrets, I tried it on, waited for a sale, and made it mine :).

6. Sweatshirt - This I could blame on Style by Lee, but honestly it is the softest most comfiest loungewear piece I think I own, and when it was cooler I even wore it out of the house (life is short). I felt good supporting another small company, which makes a well made piece even more pleasing to own.

7. Coat-igan - Am I sold on dusters totally? No. But I am enamored with the idea of a cardigan/mid-weight topper with pockets, which has been so popular lately, but a lot of the more voluminous ones just look ridiculous on me. Eileen Fisher popped up in my brand awareness because of the minimalist scene, and while a lot of their aesthetic doesn't fit me really, I had some Nordstrom notes and when I sized down this light tweed addition made me so happy.

8. Floral Maxi (gift) - I'm including this because it was an addition to my closet, but really it's only due to a dear friend who got it for me when I mentioned my April no-buy, and I'm so thankful to her for it. I plan to wear the crap out of it!

9. Floral Max 2 (all me) - So this dress. I originally fell in love with the floral pattern online, but since Free People's sizing can be all over the place for me, I didn't buy it. Then, out with friends. I stopped by a store that had exactly one left - not in the size I would typically have purchased, but they had one. I said fuck it and tried it on, which was the WORST thing to do, because it was amazing perfection but I couldn't think of man occasions to wear it, and I'm trying to buy less things that have a high price per wear. So I didn't buy it, I got the F21 dress, told myself the feel was the same, and worked on not being sad when my size was already sold out online. But (because there's always a but), I kept the tab open. I hemmed, I hawed, I told myself it was better not to even have the option to buy it, because I don't live a life with Coachellas in it. Despite all this firm self-talk though, the second they had a medium in stock, a single solitary little medium, I bought it immediately. And while I feel terrible because dammit I should be able to go a month without buying any clothing, I can only kind of regret something that makes me feel so amazing when I put it out. Thus is the tale of Dana and this Free People dress.

10. Swimsuit - This was an April fuck up, but it was an honest fuck up. It was only after I clicked buy did I think about whether swimwear counted as clothing and while I've decided that it does, but because it wasn't premeditated I'm going to give it a pass.

So what does all this mean? Well between March and April I bought twice as much as I did in Jan/Feb, and not all of it was done with the same forethought. I'm still not entirely positive I know what I want to look like in the end, which I was ok with before but it now kind of starting to become annoying.

Before this past weekend I had never been to Meridian Hill, never seen Malcolm X Park, and I can't explain to you how that sentence makes any more sense than the non-sense that it's making now. I'm an idiot.

Luckily my friend is more informed than me and is willing to get sucked into my hobby, and suggested this locale. You'll definitely be seeing it again - I can't wait until the fountains are turned on! - but until then we can all enjoy the incredible greenary.