The Fashionista Questionnaire

I don't think I qualify as a fashionista, since I have a preference for classics over trends, but this little survey (copied from Jack & Hill who took it from here) is fun.

What is your favourite item in your wardrobe?
A pair of platform knee-high Emilio Pucci boots. Black leather with a fabric leg shaft in a cream, green and wine print. They make jeans and a white t-shirt look fabulous and are traffic stoppers in the best possible way.

What is your fall-back outfit?
A black and camel DVF dress in one of her vintage prints. It's effortless, comfy and always looks perfectly put together.

What is your one piece of beauty advice?
Moisturize.

Biggest fashion faux pas?
The 80s. I was a teenager, but even that is not a good enough excuse.

What aspect of fashion do you hate the most?
When people don't stop to think if a certain style or trend actually makes them look good.

How do you think people perceive you from the way you dress?
I've really struggled with this question. My look is two polar opposites: a little boho (the hair and the prints) with mostly classic items. In the end of the day, I'm both, so perhaps that's how I'm also perceived.

If you could steal anyone's wardrobe, whose would it be and why?
Sophia Loren. Especially her vintage clothes. She's fabulous now, in her 70s, and has always looked like she was having fun.

If you could change one part of your body, which would it be?
Three or four extra inches would have done me a world of good.

What are your five desert-island staples?
A good cleanser, a rich moisturizer, sunscreen, lipgloss and perfume.

Why dont you...Why dont I...

I've been getting more and more requests to post more photos, particularly pictures of myself wearing the products I'm reviewing. There are also numerous calls for tutorials- videos and/or how-to posts. I guess it's about time I explain why I don't do it.

I'm not a makeup artist and I don't play one on YouTube. Of course, I'm pretty good at wielding a brush and doing my own makeup. I can also do a very decent job making over some of my nearest and dearest. I'm familiar enough with their faces and know what works and what would make my sister remind me she's still the stronger one and can do me a world of bodily harm. But I can't tell you how to do your makeup. Sometimes I make suggestions, but for the most part it comes down to your very specific coloring and facial features. The specific of applying two or three eyes shadows on Asian eyes are extremely different than how to do it on mine. Look at my photos- I have deep-set eyes with very visible lids. There's no way that a method that works for me would work for many of you. Even when it comes to eyes of similar shapes there are minute but important details every woman needs to figure out for herself.

Let's talk about skin tone. The warm vs. cool grouping is way too broad. We all have several undertones, some contrasting, and trying to generalize too often ends with a person buying the wrong foundation shade. Just think of the various shades of Asian skin tones that look absolutely nothing like each other. The same goes for African-Americans. And look at my own "white" skin- at most makeup counters the first foundation or concealer shade a SA  suggests usually turns out about 1.5 shades too dark. Why? Because while I'm generally categorized as "olive" there's also a little yellow and pink in some indescribable ratio. I can't wear pink foundations, of course, but many of them (MAC, Trish McEvoy and Bobbi Brown are good examples) are too yellow or just look off. I tan easily and can get quite brown, but I try my best to avoid the sun, so I'm actually some weird pale olive color. And this fact influences the way I wear all of my makeup. Normally I apply a touch of bronzer or blush to my décolleté to even things out. I intentionally avoided it when I took the photo yesterday so you can see the green and the difference.

I'm not even talking about the technical aspects of taking a huge amount of pictures that showcase the products or the makeup "look". I can tell you that for the simple daytime makeup  I'm showing here I had to  apply almost double the amount of color I'd normally do and it still looks a bit washed out compared to what I actually saw in the mirror. These two pictures were taken about two minutes apart in separate rooms that face the same direction. The natural light still looks different and so does the makeup. It's a lot of work for very uneven results, which is why I stick to closeup swatches on my wrists.

What does it smell like to be in your 30s? - Tom Ford Black Orchid

I'm turning 36 in a week and a half. It's not a big milestone and I'm definitely not doing a wardrobe/fragrance/makeup re-evaluating . But it does make one wonder. Back when I was much younger, mid-30s seemed like such a distinguished age. You're supposed to have all the answers and have everything figured out. I definitely haven't reached that point yet, but at least I can smell like I have.

For the last two days I've been constantly wearing the very new (official launch is today) Black Orchid by Tom Ford. It took me a little while to get comfortable with it, to understand what I was smelling and sensing. The notes are not obvious and are quite different than the fragrances I usually go for. What was apparent from the first time I sprayed it was its elegance. This isn't a fluffy, pink princess type of scent. I'm not entirely sold on the model who chosen for the ad campaign, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld (yes, of that Roitfeld). I'd prefer to see someone a bit older who actually earned her glamor, someone more Hollywood. But, on second thought, who in today's Hollywood is that glamorous? At least, Tom Ford had the good taste not to choose someone like Sienna Miller.

But, back to the fragrance. It's different from the second you inhale the top notes (black truffle,ylang ylang, bergamot, black currant). What I smelled was mostly the ylang ylang. Not a note that I usually care for, because it tends to turn medicinal and bandaid-like on my skin. Here, though, it was a bit different and had a sweet sharpness that I found intriguing at first wear, and attractive upon later sprayings. I can't say anything about the black truffle note. I can't smell it and the fragrance doesn't evoke a risotto, which is a good thing.

Next comes the black currant that leads into the heart notes, that are fruits and florals. I'm not too crazy about the fruity part and the black currant is just a bit too much. But the sweetness is not too overwhelming and it is followed by the darker, deeper notes of patchouli (just enough of it, no over-patching), supposedly incense (not on my skin), vetiver, vanilla, blsam and sandalwood. Of all the latter, the ones that are more pronounced for me are the vetiver and vanilla. And it's the vanilla that lingers after all the rest is mostly a memory. But it's a twisted, dark vanilla, touched with sandalwood.

I like it. I enjoy the complexity and retro elegance. I like how it's very different than everything else that I own, I like the grown-up feeling of this scent. It's a great cold weather fragrance.
My husband still isn't head-over-heels with it, but I could tell that it was growing on him. His comment was that it's more elegant than sexy, and I have to agree. But I'm pretty sure that just like with several other scents, after a while of me wearing it and making it mine, he learns to love it.

The bottle is lovely in its black and gold elegance. Makes me want to wear something fabulous and put on a red lipstick. My nails are already painted in Essie's Wicked. Very appropriate.

(Picture by Mastsy Wynn Richards, Untitled (Woman in Hat with Net)1935, vintage gelatin silver print, Worcester Art Museum, Eliza S. Paine Fund, 1991.56)

Just what the world needed

Another beauty blog. I don’t know about you, but I already read several. All are dedicated to the pursuit of creamy, shiny products, things that smell good, beautiful accessories (Dear Manolo, how I love thee) and the occasional comment about how crazy Tom Cruise has become.

The thing is, that as far as I can tell all the talented bloggers who write about cosmetics and makeup are blessed with peaches-and-cream complexion, Jennifer Aniston hair and a body chemistry that embraces Prada perfume. I’m none of the above.

I tan easily and nicely, my complexion is olivey enough that on a bad day I could audition for and get the lead in Wicked, because it’d save them money on green face paint. The plus side of this, is that I can actually sport a green eyeliner and look very nice in it. How many of you can say that?

On the other hand all the peachy, coraly and most pink stuff looks really bad on my face, and many other colors are not pigmented enough to make a difference on my face. I’m Caucasian, so I can only imagine how hard it is for women of different races to find colors that do what they’re supposed to.

As for things like hair care, I have a thick wavy hair down to my butt. Designer 8 oz shampoo and conditioner bottles make it laugh. But I need good products that can nourish and moisturize my locks. I’m always on a quest for the perfect leave-in conditioner. I don’t do much as far as styling it goes, you can’t really with this length. I wash it, cream it and let it be. It works very well.

This is what I look like, and this is where my documented journey begins.