Post St. Patrick's Day Pose

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Scarf: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

It's never too late to celebrate the wearing of the green.  Or to enjoy a St. Patrick's Day mystery or three.  Because it wasn't until late last night that I opened this trio of Irish-themed novellas: Leslie Meier's Irish Coffee Murder, Lee Hollis's Death of an Irish Coffee Drinker, and Barbara Ross's Perked Up.  All three small-town sleuths find themselves in hot coffee -- and hot water.  Thankfully, my own holiday was limited to lounging under the archway.  

Here's hoping that yours was as exciting -- or as uneventful -- as you wanted!💚

Bric-a-Brac Snacks

Taking so many pictures of my crafts, clothes, and accessories has trained my eye to snap -- well, almost everything.  Which is how I got these pics of my makeup tray, the great outdoors, and books in my dining room.  Besides being cute and colorful (I can say that about my own stuff, right?), they also show some changes that I've made during the quarantine.  

For starters, my makeup collection (and I know I've mentioned this before) used to consist of just the essentials.  But having more time for face painting made me realize that I could -- and should! -- include more colors.  Plus, the extra products make for a cheerful presentation against the yellow tray. 

As for the hardbacks on my china cabinet, they came from the overflow in the living room.  Finding homes for all my books remains a challenge, so I feel psyched whenever I can cram them in some up-to-now-overlooked place.  Then again, I always wanted to have books in every room of the house.  So here's to living that dream!  

And finally, the middle pic . . . yeah, that was a barrette shot reject.  Or so I thought.  But the trees and sky were so striking that I decided to use it somewhere else.  

And it turns out that that somewhere is this island of misfit joys.     

Spring Fur Sure, A Lamb at the Door, and Also Sometimes Some Turquoise

Jacket: Sunset & Sixth, JCPenney

Red Planet Janet Necklace

Skirt: I Heart Ronson, JCPenney

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Yellow bangle: B Fabulous; Coral bangle: Silver Lining, Ocean City; Maroon bangle: Iris Apfel for INC, Macy's; Ring: Making Waves, Ocean City; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Skirt: Hollister, Marshalls

Get in Gear Necklace

Sweater: GAP

Heart of Hearts Barrette Brooch

Skirt (a dress!): Three Pink Hearts, Kohl's

Bag: TJ Maxx

Top: Jessica Simpson Collection, Amazon

Bangle: Simply Vera, Kohl's

Belts: Hand-me-downs from Mom; Headband: INC, Macy's; Necklace: Betsey Johnson, Amazon; Ring: Mixit, JCPenney

Tights: Xhilaration, Target; Shoes: Nine West, Zulily

After an unusually snowy winter, spring is finally here!  The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the air smells like hope and grass clippings.  And also . . . it's still kind of chilly.  At least it is here in New Jersey, where spring doesn't so much arrive as make a guest appearance and clear out for the diva that is summer.  But I'm not complaining.  Because it gives me an excuse to flaunt my faux furs (summer's not the only diva), a luxury I'll enjoy until that menacing March lion retreats for good.

Fur or no fur, I am springing forward with one fresh new something: makeup!  I know I've mentioned this before, but back in high school, I collected cosmetics.  I had Caboodles full of lipsticks and eyeshadows in every color.  But like so many women, as I grew older and wiser, I narrowed my stash down to what worked -- Revlon Cherries in the Snow lipstick and Cover Girl Champagne eyeshadow.  And save for the occasional rogue impulse purchase, I never looked back.  The only way I'd ever wear gold lipstick again was if it was Halloween and I was going as C-3PO.  But then not too long ago, I crossed paths with some dangerously dark blue Revlon eyeshadow, followed by prettily packaged Sephora lipsticks and bright L'Oreal eyeshadow quads (buy two get one free at Walgreens!) that I just couldn't resist.  Entranced by their sleek newness and alluring shades, I uttered a silent apology to my tried-and-trues and thought, why not?  

Pink lipstick: Celebrate; Red lipstick: A Little Magic; Sephora, Kohl's 

Turquoise eyeshadow: Avant Garde Azure; Purple eyeshadow: Voilet Amour; Silver eyeshadow: Silver Couture; L'Oreal, Walgreens

Here I am trying out my new red lipstick and turquoise eyeshadow:

Headband: So, Kohl's; Top: BCX, Macy's

The eyeshadow is more intense than I expected, like the taste of birthday cake ice cream.  And I am committing the twin cardinal cosmetics sins of 1) matching my eyeshadow to my outfit and 2) rocking a bold lip and eye instead of just one or the other.  But I don't care; I love it!  (Cue the Icona Pop, people.)  It's fun to have an alternative to my go-to palette.  It makes me feel like the possibilities are endless.  Like I have a technicolor time machine and am sixteen again, browsing the beauty aisle at Thrift Drug.  That was a time when a new pot of lip gloss -- like lots of '90s girls, I was into the fruit flavors from Naturistics --could change your life.  Or at least make you think it could.   

But then, I guess that's the magic of makeup.  And of youth and rejuvenation.

So, in other words, spring.

Foundations in Fun: Cosmetic Aesthetic

Caboodle: Kohl's; Makeup brushes: Walgreens; Hairbrush: Wet Brush, Zulily; Compact: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

When I was trying to decide how to start this post, I came up with three first paragraphs:

First First Paragraph

"Wake Up and Make Up," or so say all those cheeky cosmetics bags.  (Get it?  Cheeky?  As in blush and cleverness?  Ok, I'll stop.)  Also, "My Face is in Here," or even the contradictory, "I Woke up This Way."  Why shouldn't these compact carryalls spout sassy one-liners?  Wordplay is fun, and so is makeup!  Makeup means getting to have Halloween every day or even just enjoying the treat that is cherry berry banana lip gloss.  And even more captivating than the cosmetics themselves are the super cute cases they come in.  

Second First Paragraph

When I think of makeup and fun, I think of the '80s, which means that I think of Sweet Secrets.  Remember those, the little toys with the play makeup inside?  I had two that I recall, 1) a turquoise dog with a huge red rhinestone heart as its belly, and 2) a butterfly that was also a guitar that I got at the grand opening at the mall.  Oddly enough, I don't remember what makeup they were so earnestly guarding.  Even if I do remember blogging about the butterfly guitar before.

Third First Paragraph

The theater and over-the-topness of these outfits make me think of the best that face goop has to offer.  And by goop, I don't mean GOOP, but the paraben-packed products at your corner drug store.  Long live Cover Girl.  And Revlon.  But for some reason, not L'Oreal.

     

Now here we are at the end of the post, and I still can't decide how to start.  So instead I'll concentrate on the ending:

I guess the takeaway is that it's not always what's on the inside that counts.

That and that good things come in mall packages.

Huh.  Now that I've typed it, I see that the ending only really applies to the second first paragraph, what with the what's-on-the-inside and mall references.  So, it looks like we have a winner!  Sweet Secrets, I'm sending you on an all-expense paid trip to The Tote Trove craft room, where you'll live forever in a paradise of Michaels merchandise and sitcom reruns.

Well, you will if I find you on eBay.

Compact Attack

From top to bottom: Purple Hello Kitty, Target; Golden Girls, Snappy Mirrors, Etsy; Rainbow cloud: Snappy Mirrors, Etsy; Pink rhinestones: ULTA; Green angel: Michael's; Red rhinestone: Victoria's Secret; Yellow leaf, Snappy Mirrors, Etsy; Jambi, Abbie Road Designs; Pink Hello Kitty, Target

It's no secret that I love to collect things.  Colorful, sparkly, gumball-machine-looking things that serve no practical purpose.  (Maybe that's why I've always loved The Little Mermaid.  Ariel was an acquirer too, what with her cave full of doppelgangers and snarblats.)  Perhaps the most useless (and fledgling) of my collections is my compact collection.  Nine times out of ten, I just use the boring old green Cover Girl pressed powder compact I carry in my purse.  (No offense, Cover Girl.  Your powder is top notch despite its uninspired packaging.)  I think this is probably because it takes effort to rummage through my compacts and pluck out a winner.  Still, sometimes I like to glance in their (purse-printed!) box and take in all of their rainbowed splendor.  If not for such pleasures, then I wouldn't bother collecting anything at all.

Saturday Night at the Acme

Yeah, you read that right. After a casual dinner on the island this past Saturday night, the bf and I headed to the Acme to load up on the week's groceries. Now, ordinarily I don't like grocery shopping. It strikes me as boring and tedious, and I often go on autopilot, efficiently grabbing the things on my list as fast as I can so I can get the heck out of there. The bf takes a different approach. He likes to take his time, exploring all of the possibilities and new products. True to form, he made one of his discoveries on this trip -- Atlantic City postcards for just ten cents each! "You could make something out of them," he suggested. But of course. Greedily, I rifled through the pile, settling on ten of my favorites and wondering how many times I'd barreled past them on previous trips in hot pursuit of JELL-O bowls or Smartfood.

The bargains didn't stop there. As we meandered down the toiletries aisle (one I dutifully skip when shopping solo), I came upon a wire basket brimming with Cover Girl cosmetics marked down to $1.99. Abandoning my thou-shalt-not-OD-on-purchasing-makeup mantra, I gleefully scooped up a powder compact, liquid foundation, and two eyeshadow quads, one all business (neutral browns called Country Woods) and one party ready (wild shades dubbed Tropical Fusion). Even as I type this post I'm contemplating returning for a lipstick or two . . .

So, about these postcards. They scream decoupage to me, and I have just the wooden box upon which to Mod Podge them. I can't promise results any time soon, though, as I'm waist-deep in totes and jewelry to be created for the upcoming shows.

A Little Makeup Story

Makeup is fun. But I didn't always think so. I didn't start wearing it until I was thirteen, and that was only after some well-intentioned prodding from my mother. I was a bit of a late bloomer, and something about makeup seemed too grown-up to my shrinking violet self. Yet I decided to try a few neutral shades. I still remember carefully picking them out in CVS at the mall. (I was so nervous you'd have thought I was trying to buy cigarettes.) Once purchased, I tentatively used the lightest shade of eyeshadow in the quad before graduating on to the darkest. (I didn't know I was supposed to use all of the colors at once.) Little by little, my fear subsided. I liked playing with the colors.

Before long my hesitation melted completely. The collector and artist in me conspired to create a makeup monster. Soon I was buying every shade of eyeshadow, lipstick, and nail polish imaginable, gleefully lining them up on my bedroom floor each time I made an acquisition. I reveled in the scent of a new product; even now a whiff of brand new Cover Girl blush takes me back to freshman year. Yet as with most lovefests, mine with cosmetics ran hot before meeting its crash and burn demise. I can't say exactly what happened. I guess I just I realized that it was the buying of the products I liked more than the makeup itself. So, I settled on the shades that looked best and tossed the rest. This meant hanging onto my black Cover Girl eyeliner, black Maybelline Great Lash mascara, and Revlon Cherries in the Snow lipstick. This was probably around the same time my shoe obsession (also, interestingly, spurred by my mother), was born.

Anyway, I'd been studiously abstaining from makeup splurges ever since this revelation. And then this past Sunday I took advantage of the sunshine to walk to my local CVS for some razors. On my way to the shaving aisle I became transfixed by a dazzling display of Milani cosmetics. I'd never bought that brand before, which seemed only to heighten its appeal. Excitedly, I examined the glittery eye shadows, neon nail polishes, and lush lip glosses encased in glamorous gold-toned containers. Should I? I wondered, eyeing the bright green glittery eyeshadow compact, hot pink nail polish, and almost luridly bright magenta lip gloss nestled in my palm. Would I actually wear this stuff? But somehow the answer didn't seem to matter. All thoughts of my tried-and-true Cherries in the Snow were blocked, eclipsed by the allure of getting something new. Foolhardy or not, I decided to take the plunge. (Psychologically, that is. Financially, I was parting with just $20.) Now, I must admit that I haven't worn them yet. I'm reluctant to bust them out of their pristine packaging. And to stray from my beloved red lipstick. Nevertheless, I sense their debut is impending.

So, what's your makeup MO? Love it? Hate it? And if it's love, can it be found in a department store or a drugstore? Be expressed in tranquil neutrals or blazing brights? Whatever your story, I want to hear it. :)