Beauty Breakdown

This past Saturday, before the bodysuit bonanza began, I decided to partake in my sole form of cardio as of late- shopping. I had reached dangerously low levels of all my favorite beauty products; this alone  is enough to get my heart racing but paired with the rush of adrenaline I get when I enter fine retail establishments I basically broke out in a full blown sweat during my intense Saturday shopping spree. I tricked Ryan into coming with me under the guise of a quick stop at Sephora,  but when I casually made a beeline for the sunglass department at Nordy's he was onto my ulterior motives and none too pleased. The excursion turned into an intense workout of my credit card at multiple locations and a mini-meltdown midway through when Ry just couldn't bear to watch me try on one more pair of sunnies.

  After some deep soul searching I decided upon a pair of oversized Wayfarers that I'm actually obsessed with, the old man brown leather case they come in makes them even more legit and I fully intend to handle them with tender love and care. This may prove to be a daunting task because my last four pairs of sunglasses have been bent, smashed or stepped on by yours truly. 
When I finally did make it to my intended destination, Sephora, I picked up my favorite facial moisturizer, the Wild Rose 24-hour Brightening and Moisturizing Cream from Korres that is simultaneously softness-inducing and delicious smelling. Its like walking into a garden of roses and emerging with a kick-ass complexion, does it get any better than that? I was a little depressed when I discovered that the be all end all of lip plumpers, LipFusion, is no longer carried at Sephora. This gloss is so crazy good it gives you a collagen injection-like pillowy pout without the pain or fear of permanent trout mouth. Alas, I will now and forever be purchasing my LipFusion via the internet, which is probably a good thing considering the strife I caused on this shopping excursion. I have included the links for some of my favorite products below to make scoring some big haute beauty loot easy as can be!
One last stop on my crazy train was at the salon for some big haute hair essentials: Oleo-relax from Kerastase that makes my hair soft as spun silk and tames most of my frizz, Shu Umera Shape Paste to dirty up the 'do and of course Elnett Satin Hairspray- big haute hair's formerly banned BFF. I feel like a new woman now that I'm fully stocked with all my lotions and potions and I've got some sweet shades to shield my peepers from the non-existent San Francisco sun. My shopping frenzy was a total success and although Ry was temporarily peeved with me for my devil-woman trickery he just can't resist my sweet smelling skin and bouncy hair.

 
  ( L'Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hair Spray - Extra Strength , Fusion Beauty Lipfusion Collagen Lip Plump Blingfusion Limited Edition - Beach Baby - 8.22G/0.29oz, Ray-Ban Original Wayfarer In Black black 54 )

1 Leotard 5 Ways Part Deux: Smells Like Teen Spirit

photos courtesy of Ryan Beren

My second installment of "1 Leotard 5 Ways" is an ode to my favorite fashion genre: nineties grunge. Ripped denim, Kurt Cobain, 90210 and a general sense of angst define the nineties and were my inspiration for part deux of my foray into the expansive world of the adult onesie.  I've paired my karma chameleon-like American Apparel bodysuit with the archetypical grunge girl garb; shredded cut-offs, ripped black stockings and chunky-heeled boots in an attempt to walk a mile in Kelly Taylor’s shoes.  

 Striped bodysuit, tights, watch: American Apparel

Cutoffs: Levi's

Boots: Vince Camuto

Hat: Forever 21

Sunglasses: Ray Ban

The smell of teen spirit was thick in the air and it seemed to have a sedative effect on my mood because all I wanted to do was lay in the hammock and dream of taking a ride in Dylan McKay’s Porsche Speedster.

Beat it. I'm saving myself for Luke Perry.

This outfit is a great transition from summer to fall because it keeps my favorite Levi's cutoffs relevant for the upcoming season. I was so comfortable I never wanted to change again, until I had a minor panic attack at the realization of how many layers existed between me and the inevitable call of nature; but if you keep the beverage guzzling to a minimum this outfit is a real winner! I topped it all off with a bowler hat and somehow ended up resembling Heisenberg from Breaking Bad, probably the closest I will ever get to heroin chic.

1 Leotard 5 ways

  As promised, this week I will be giving you my interpretation of some of the trends seen at New York Fashion Week in an attempt to fully accept and move forward from my five stages of Fashion Week grief.  Today will be the first in a series chronicling one rad leotard worn five different ways. The inspiration for this styling set came from the Michael Kors Spring 2013 show where he featured a striped bodysuit that instantly caught my eye. I have an unhealthy obsession with horizontal stripes and bodysuits, both ultra unforgiving in form and function, so naturally, being the fashion masochist that I am; I had to cop this look.  

 

The striped bodysuit is from American Apparel and is surprisingly wearable for an adult leotard. When I first slipped on my new onesie I channeled my inner Gabby Douglas and had the slight urge to perform a standing back handspring back tuck. The urge was fleeting, and thoughts of gold medals were replaced with contemplations of all the ways one bodysuit will enrich my fall wardrobe.

   

For the first installment of “1 Leotard 5 Ways” I have kept to the Michael Kors runway look and paired my bodysuit with a black circle skirt, also from American Apparel.  Micheal Kors leans a little more toward the all American preppy aesthetic than I do, so I chose some killer heels to dirty up the ensemble a bit. The addition of my new Ugg leather booties (yes Ugg don’t judge, these are not the Ugg of yesteryear,  they are super cute and are lined with shearling to keep my tootsies warm while giving me a four inch lift) make the outfit wearable for day or night and can be rocked with black tights when the weather gets chilly. Stay tuned, more looks to come…

Photos courtesy of Ryan Beren

Striped Bodysuit: American Apparel

Circle Skirt: American Apparel

Booties: Ugg Australia

Sunglasses: Ray Ban

Five Stages of Fashion Week

in mourning

feeling blue...

I am going to be honest, I've been in a mood lately. I have had a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out) since the onslaught of Fashion Week, because sadly my invitation to all the of the fantastic parties and fabulous fashion shows must have somehow got lost in the mail.  My poor psyche has gone through all five stages of grief while I've mourned the loss of any chance of participating in this year's NYFW. Denial and isolation were first when I entered the Nasty Gal NYFW sweepstakes thinking that was my golden ticket to the big show, but when neither I, nor my BFF, were chosen I wanted to bury my big haute hair in my bed and never come out. The anger came next and with every Instagram update or new post from my favorite fashion blogger chronicling their romp through Fashion Week wonderland I grew increasingly more emo and channeled my inner Naomi Campbell by throwing my iPhone in a fit of blind rage. During my bargaining phase I experienced the normal reaction to my feelings of helplessness and vulnerability with a desperate attempt to regain control– attending Fashion's Night Out in San Francisco.



 I suited up in my newest Zara attire and strutted my stuff to AB Shoes where my boyfriend and his sister were holding an event celebrating FNO at their Union Square shoe store. I figured if I couldn't take part in the the real thing I could re-create some of the magic in my neck of the woods, but this catapulted me into the fourth phase, depression, faster than you can say Maison Martin Margiela. Although I was surrounded by Salvatore Ferragamo and sipping champagne I was NOT in New York and NOT a part of the fashionable phenomena that was taking place on the opposite end of the country. My spirits sank quite low and I completely lost myself in a Rachel Zoe Project marathon which wasn't the best idea considering Skyler Berman had a better wardrobe than I do while in utero.

dog days

After a few days of wallowing, acceptance started to set in and with it came a new wave of inspiration. I channeled my moodiness into a positive outlet for my fashion fury, a complete submersion in the September issue of Vogue and the creation of my very first mood board! I defamed the fashion bible by cutting out my favorite looks from Valentino, Tibi, Dolce and Gabanna, and Mulberry and constructed a sartorial story of my own. Ingenuity bred of pure envy is always a recipe for success! Stay tuned for the fruits of my labor as I will be posting my interpretation of fall's best trends throughout the week.

In the Nude

Alas, my love/hate relationship with mani/pedis continues. I have had a steady stream of amazing finger paint jobs lately so it was inevitable I would encounter a less than stellar session, and last night I came face to face with one sassy sister at my fave nail salon. The bitter cold of this wintry SF summer has forced me to accept that summer has come and gone and so has the appropriateness of electric colored fingers and toes. So my Milk + partner in crime, D, and I chose fall inspired hues for our tips. D went to the dark side with a deep wine color and I decided to go grandma chic with a mauvey nude by OPI. I have been digging Rihanna's long lady-like nails lately, so I wanted to keep mine lengthy to really accentuate the Golden Girls vibe I was shooting for.  The pressure of choosing the perfect color, paired with the endless choices of nail shapes and lengths was almost too much for us to take, the only thing that could ease our anxiety was a good kiki-fest and with all that gossip comes some uncontrollable hand movements. My manicurist was none too pleased when I smudged my nail during a particularly deep and meaningful convo with D about where we would be spending our Fashion Night Out, but she really let me have it when we were discussing our mutual love for faux leather. When my ring finger twitched at the mention of my latest obsession, leather shorts, she shrieked, "Oh Honayyyyyyyyyyy! You're gonna mess up your nail again!" This scolding totally ruined the flow of the convo but luckily not my nails. They look great and will be the perfect compliment to the neutral toned duds I have picked out for FNOSF!

Silk Top: Zara

Rings: (ring finger) David Yurman, (middle) Brandy Melville (pinkie&pointer) Vintage



My Head Is An Animal

she loves me, I swear

oh hai

Dirty Paws

Big Haute Cat Hair

Choupette, eat your heart out

My cat has the biggest, hautest (and hottest) cat hair ever. On my long weekend trip to my hometown I got to snuggle this fashionable lil' kitty while listening to my fave album as of late, My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men. Kitty and I had a little unrequited love fest in my Grandma's garden under the hot, end of summer sun while jamming to her fave tune "Dirty Paws". My head really was an animal because one cranium cuddle with that feline results in a face full of cat fur.  The cat eye sunnies are quite appropriate for Kitty canoodling; chic and a perfect barrier between my eyes and her layers of hair. This post is slight on fashion, besides the fact that in my opinion, she is the next Choupette Lagerfeld. 

Sunnies: Vintage

Country Strong

I decided to take my big hair out of the city for the long weekend and enjoy my celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers in a place where mud tires and cowboy hats reign supreme, my little hometown of Danville. So I strapped on my boots and immersed myself in Americana for a few days. Check out the first of a few posts chronicling my trek to the country.

Boots: AllSaints

Purse: Rebecca Minkoff

Cutoffs: Lucky Brand Jeans

Cuff: Veronica M.

Watch: Rolex

Bracelet: Brandy Melville