Geisha Girl

I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

Happy Halloween!

Paperself

Have you heard of Paperself? They are paper eyelashes with intricate designs.  I've had these for about six months and realized that I should probably share them with you.

I hope you enjoyed me batting my eyelashes at you.  You should practice too, it does wonders!

I am modeling the Peach Blossom style. I would recommend trimming them before you put them on.  They are quite long.

You can now find them here at Sephora! They're perfect to spice up any Halloween costume!

Voila!

I see makeup almost like cooking.  Everyone has a different hand.  It's always going to come out different but you can generally understand someone's technique.  My way? A tad bit of this and a dash of that, with no real instructions.  Somehow it usually turns out well, in both instances.  Along the way it may get a little bumpy, but all's well that ends well I suppose. (Did I even use that correctly?)

The goods. I'll get to the deets later.

Clean slate.

Doing a little brush action. Bare Essentials formula for those familiar.

Covering up the rough spots.

Using Nars cream blush in Laguna. Finger tools are the best.

I told you it gets bumpy!
Using Makeup Forever cream blush in #1.
Just make sure to blend until your fingers hurt.

Now I'm properly blended.
I also added Sephora eyeshadow in Alpine.

And WA-BAM! The final look.
Added Sephora black kohl eyeliner.
Added YSL lipstick in #31.

Oh! And don't worry, I didn't chop off my locks.  It's pulled back while Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment  does its work. Obviously I'm not a pro at this makeup tutorial business, but I always think it's fun to see how others get ready.  The only tips I can give are as follows:

1. The most expensive products don't always make you look like a million bucks.
2. Know yourself, especially what colors work.
3. Use your fingers! It's more fun and allows you more control in your movements.

Lastly, don't be afraid to experiment and have fun!

Vanity

When I was a young girl, I always had a white wicker vanity.  I could play dress up, do makeup for hours, and display all of my favorite products.  As I've grown up, nothing has changed.

It's not quite a traditional vanity, but it's my little table of wonders.  I have some dried flowers and lotus root, makeup and brushes, perfume tray, and a trinket box from a dear friend from Russia.  I feel like besides being super useful to have everything together and right next to my mirror, it also adds a little glam to my everyday primping time (even it's only a quick dab of blush and go!).

Do you have something similar?

Jealous.

Today during my lunch break, I decided to venture around the Upper East Side, or Geriatric Central, as I fondly call it.  Of course I got drawn into my normal pit, SEPHORA.  While I just went in there to get my free birthday gift:

Yay birthday presents!

I ended up make two other purchases.  The first, not so suprising.

Fresh Sugar Honey Lip Treatment.

I live and die by Fresh lip treatments.  They are an quick fix an any scenario.  Dry lips in the winter? Licking your lips too much (for whatever reason)? Brush your lips instead of your teeth? This stuff is awesome!  It's pretty natural, has a little color, and makes your lips feel like velvet.

Second purchase was a total impulse and I'm admitting it now.  You know how when they say the lower the stock markets go, the brighter the lipstick gets?  I have no idea what the NYSE is doing right now, but my wallet is shivering in corner just thinking about that upcoming tuition payment.  I needed a quick boost.  So I present to you, Jealous.

Sephora Rouge Cream in Jealous

So sue me, it's a color swatch.  But if you're lucky If boyfriend/fiance is nice enough to take pictures tonight, you'll get to see it on me in a later outfit post!

Addicted to Love

There are a few stories my family likes to tell about when I was younger.  I've always had strong opinions and strong actions to go along with that.  My mother has a video (that's right, a VCR tape!) of me using our hallway as a runway and proceeding to dance to a music video.  I had on a brunette wig (since I was blonde), my mother's black pantyhose, and a black leopard (for tap dance, no less!).  My video of choice? Robert Palmer, Addicted to Love.

Robert Palmer and his girls.

I have since been drawn to this look repeated through my life.  I think it was my first real taste of the LBD.  I love the idea of simple dress with a full blown made-up face.  Although the blush is a little much (it was the 80s after all!), I love the look as a whole.

Love those lips.

So where am I going with this? I am proposing a modern day version of this, a la Tom Ford beauty modeled by the luscious Lara Stone.

Lara at her best.

What do you think of this for an evening look?