things I like this week, vol. 41

From the selby's Nina Pohl shoot, which was lovely and mid-century modern - though I preferred the flowers. 

. . .

Einstein's desk, which I saw two pictures of in a week, one accompanied by this quote: "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" And even though I spent two and a half days cleaning up my office over spring break, at least I felt somewhat validated about it having been very much like Albert's in the first place. 

. . .

Bookshelves in the bathroom . . . 

 . . . bookshelves in the kitchen . . .

. . . bookshelves in the bedroom. These make me conclude that we need more bookshelves in our apartment, preferably built-ins. Hardwood floors wouldn't hurt, either.

. . .

Neil Gaiman did a collaboration with BlackBerry called A Calendar of Tales. He twitter-sourced ideas by asking questions about each month ("What would you burn in November, if you could?"), picking a tweet that inspired him ("My medical records, but only if that would make it all go away.") and then wrote a story for each month. And then they posted all the stories, and asked people to create art based on those stories, and they're going to pick an art piece for each month and turn the whole damn thing into a calendar. 

The stories are quite good, and the art that people submitted is incredible. You can see/read/watch the whole thing here. What it all has to do with BlackBerry I don't know, but it's beautiful despite that.

. . . 

 

 

Dimitry Tsykalov, whose works make me think of these lines from Eliot's Wasteland:

And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

. . . 

This is from a photoshoot done with disposable cameras, by two models who are dating, as an ad for Gucci Guilty Black. I am fascinated by the contrast of the apparent intimacy of the photos and the obviously advertorial nature of the whole enterprise. 

. . .

This house is downtown, just behind the Stillwell house, and is quite gorgeous. And for sale for an absurd $1.5mil, because apparently it was the home to some Senator I've never heard of.

. . .

Morocco is quickly climbing the list of "places I need to visit soon."

. . .

'Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, from Ulysses

. . . 

The irony of Courtney Love discussing makeup amuses me. She seems surprisingly coherent. 

. . .

It was in my head for a week or two before I actually listened to the lyrics and fell in love with itfor that reason, too.

things I like this week, vol. 25

Believe in the holy contour of life

. . .

Strange and ridiculous and lovely.

. . .

The moon wobbles.

. . .

How to Write: a memo from David Ogilvy, of which my favorite is no. 10:

If you want ACTION, don't write. Go and tell the guy what you want.

. . .

I have a soft spot for goldens. (Who doesn't?) This one is the aide to a boy with fetal alcohol syndrome. The article is worth reading for emotional impact alone.

. . .

The crash triggers the camera. More here.

. . .

The photographer's portfolio is impressive.

. . .

It is oddly intimate to watch someone else putting on her morning makeup.

. . .

Despite the old stereotypes, educated women have better sex, have longer, healthier lives, and are less likely to get divorced. Get working on those degrees, ladies.

. . .

I’ve often said that when I make a portrait what I’m really photographing is the space between the sitter and myself.

- Alec Soth

. . .

It's a quotation from The Little Prince. How strange to see something that in my head is feminine and soft and child-like on such a hard, masculine body. I appreciate the contrast.

on life sans hair

I am surprised that most of the responses to my shaving my head have been positive. In fact, the biggest response I've gotten from women is "I wish I could pull that off, but . . . ." In some ways, this saddens me (as flattering as it is) - I'm firmly convinced that "pulling it off" just means that you act like you can pull it off, and people believe you. Most of the women who've said that I think would look just fine with their heads shaved.

There are days and times I don't think about it much - and times when I do.

Part of the reason I did it was I was bored with my look and my clothes. They wear differently, now. My usual t-shirts look much more androgynous, and my outfits have become less complex. If I wear something very girly, the look is more interesting than it used to be, because of the contrast with my lack of hair.

The biggest change, I think, is how I do my makeup. I was surprised to discover I needed less make-up instead of more - taking away your hair puts the focus directly on your face, so I don't need my make-up stronger, just more perfectly applied.

I always paid attention to my eyebrows, but now I'm even more precise. I found NYX's eyebrow powder and wax (which I chose because the colors were better and because it had both products in one compact), and have been having good success with it. I invested in a heavier concealer (the one I used to use wore off after a couple hours). I'm still using the same blush, but I'm putting it higher on my cheekbones to draw attention away from the jowly cheeks I inherited from my father (that was my first reaction when my head was shaved and I saw myself from the side: shit, I *do* have my father's cheeks).

I've been doing a smudgy-eyeliner-no-shadow thing for a few months, now, but with the added attention drawn to my eyes, I've been happily waterlining and smudging all around, and now it doesn't make them look too small (I used to only do the top lid). I'm using Stila's smudgepot, which is awesome and blends when you first put it on but stays the rest of the day once it sets.

My piercings and tattoo somehow look infinitely more extreme with my hair gone. I'm wearing my smallest nose stud, and when I put the usual captive bead ring in my cartilage, it was the first thing the eye was drawn to, so I had to put a thinner, simple hoop in. I can wear small earrings, but anything too big looks garish. I haven't been wearing any big necklaces, either.

I do get my head rubbed fairly often - which is not at all a bad thing - and instead of playing with my hair, I run my hand over the stubble. Even now, nearly two weeks later, it still feels weird to me. For awhile afterward I could feel every motion of the air over my head, which was super distracting, but that's settled down, now.

I'm balder now than I've been my entire life - I was born with more hair than this. It's kind of fun.

actually cheap summer makeup solutions

It's summer. Makeup melts off your face (especially with 100+ temps and humidity). Magazines have all sorts of tips and products you can use to prevent that from happening, but they're usually absurdly expensive.

So here's what I've found that's dirt cheap and will still do the job.


Primer

You should have a facial primer. Even if you don't wear any makeup over it, it still fills in pores and keeps your face from getting as shiny. And if you do put makeup over it, it'll stay longer and you'll have to use less of it to get good coverage. I resisted it for a long time because of the annoyance of an extra step, but especially in the summer, it's definitely worth it.

The problem is, even the drugstore brands are at least 10-12 bucks. Rimmel has one for about $7, but it's got a tint to it, and it only comes in one orangey color.



Solution: Claudia Stevens primer. It's five bucks at Sally Beauty Supply. It's not quite as nice a consistency as Smashbox's or Mac's primers, but it does the job.


Eyeshadow Primer

Again, I resisted for the same reasons: cost, extra step. And then I realized it's pointless to spend time putting on eyeshadow to have it disappear after an hour or two.



e.l.f. (available at Target) makes one for a dollar. And it works better than Smashbox (generally the upper level competition, though it's slightly less of a cult favorite Urban Decay's Primer Potion, which I've never tried. Both of those run about 20 bucks). Last night I put e.l.f.'s primer under black shadow, and it still had not budged after 5 straight hours of dancing - the last two at El Parador for salsa, when I (and everyone else) was sweating by the bucketful.

To sum up: good stuff. For a fucking dollar.



Oil Blotter Sheets


Again, e.l.f. For a dollar. You can normally get some for about five bucks or as much as twenty, but these seem to work quite well. I was especially impressed that it continues to keep your skin more matte afterward, as if you'd used a particularly effective powder.


Gel Eyeliner


Wins awards for staying put even after I washed my face. You could wear it in the pool and it wouldn't move. The Ulta website lists it as $9, but I got the smoke shade for $2 bucks the other day - I think they're switching out the packaging, so all the Ulta brand stuff is on clearance.

You do need an eyeshadow brush, but those are pretty easy to find for not much (I use Avon's, which was $3).


Benefit Feeling Cheeky Minis

Again, a cult favorite. But the full sized versions are $28 a piece, which is way too much of an experiment for my teacher budget. I've been using these travel-sized versions all summer, though, and they still haven't run out. The trio is exclusively at Sephora, and it's only $15. Put on one of the tints after your primer and base but before powder, and you get a really nice, natural glow. It lasts all day, and the colors are both perfect. They don't look makeup-y at all.

As lip tints, they're also really nice - they go on smoothly, and don't pool color in some areas more than others. Again, really natural looking, and they don't melt off your face like gloss and lipstick do in the heat. They seem to moisturize somehow, too. I still don't know if I'll put down $28 for the full size, but for $15, totally worth it. I get way more compliments on how I look when I'm wearing them.


Eye Gel

I started using an eye cream a few months ago, but in the heat and humidity, it was too much. Olay's Revitalizing eye gel is ten bucks (you never find any sort of eye cream for ten bucks), and protects your skin without feeling heavy or greasy in the heat (or making your eye makeup run).


Let me know if you have any other cheap, effective products, or if you try these and they work for you~

things I like this week, vol. 10

Fur. Yes, I know it's summer, but that coat is sooo pretty . . .

China Glaze's Naughty and Nice. Figured it was a good color for a merry murderess.
Lipstain in Blood Orange. Bought it awhile ago, hardly wore it, and discovered that it's that perfect shade of coral I've been wanting for summer this year.

Trompe-l'oeil seating. Just awesome.

A to-do list for the summer.

ulta

Perhaps I'm a little behind the times and everyone already knows, but Ulta beauty is a god among men . . . in the way of cosmetic retailers, at least. (Pretend that metaphor worked.)

When I first went in to an Ulta, I didn't really see the point. The prices are higher for the drugstore-brand stuff I normally use, and I don't generally bother with the higher-end make-up.

Then, once I started getting into nailpolish to keep myself from gnawing my nails (a necessity when you have a document camera that projects your ragged nails 100x their normal size onto the wall behind your head on a daily basis), I often went in to get shades of nailpolish that were difficult to find other places--and ended up getting hooked.

They're successful, I think, because they bridge the gap between luxury and conventional. They carry all of the drugstore brands, and similar to Walgreen's (and unlike Walmart or Target), carry the entire line and keep it stocked. They have wider selections of facial, nail and hair products than anyone else I've found (they're the only ones I've seen who carry the Biore Skin Preservation line, for example). They also have the higher price point stuff, overlapping quite a bit with Sephora (smashbox, Urban Decay, dermalogica).

The slightly higher priced drugstore brands are made up for by the massive coupons they are always sending me--either $3.50 off a purchase of $10 or more, or 20% off a single item, which makes up the difference and then some. The club card means that I get a coupon for a free item every few months, and get double coupons via email. The staff is always friendly and not at all pretentious, going out of their way on a couple occasions to help me find something that was not out on the floor.

The reason I'm currently in love with them, however, is that they have ridiculous promotions, like the free blowout and style with Fekkai products that I have an appointment for this Wednesday.

If you want one, call your local store ASAP to reserve an appointment. The original times were Wednesday the 8th, 3-8pm, and Thursday the 9th, 1-4pm.

Good luck. =)