Unlike Yoncé, I Did Not Woke Up Like This: A Makeup Post

My skin is very fair and almost transluscent in that you can see tiny little red veins and capillaries throughout my cheeks and nose — and if you're as judgmental and close to my face as I like to get sometimes, you'll hate them like I do. But it is what it is. "You've got to work with what you've got" blah blah, etc. While I don't like wearing boat loads of make up, I do enjoy faking a more even complexion than I do have, especially around my nose and cheeks. Enter the Lancome Teint Mircale. Everyone has their favorite foundation, but even though I use it very sparingly, Lancome always  manages to even out the veiny lines around my nose and cheeks. TMI? I'm just being real withchu.

Try it. Bloomingdales and Nordstrom are notorious for their amazing return policy. Sephora is great for that, too!

PS: I am on the market for an amazing moisturizer though. Any recommendations?

The Uniform

Fact: furry coats will save you time and make you feel good on "fat days." It's like a bathrobe that you wear in your house, except its perfectly acceptable to wear it out in the world. This outfit is a lazy one, made entirely of stretchy fabrics, an Everlane shirt for the peeping collar effect, and not much else. That leaves me feeling a little self conscious because of how body-conscious it all is. I don't like wearing overly tight things--draws too much attention, you know?To make me feel better lately, I've gotten in the habit of wearing what is essentially a body suit underneath voluminous sweaters and coats. The overall effect is pleasing to my eye, my holiday gut, and any bystander who gazes in my direction. It's what I like to call my woven fat suit that looks pretty good these days to both fashion and non-fashion people

TOPSHOP coat (size US 6) ( I also own it in white, as seen here) /  MADEWELL sweater (medium)  /  EVERLANE shirt (medium) /  FREE PEOPLE skirt (medium)

Cat Eyes, Ruby Woo, and Ear Piercings

I'm taking a dose of my own blog medicine and practicing the proclamation that "Multiple piercings are the new arm party." While I'm patiently debating on getting more piercings done, as it seems like the only financially reasonably way to get the Repossi Berber look, I still can't decide if this is a fad for me or if this is truly something to give into. 

The 6 piercings on my ears were done against my will — a true testament to a Mexican upbringing, in which my aunt whisked me away when I was baby-months old in Guadalajara and did my mom the favor of getting them done on my ears on her behalf. Needless to say, my mom had other plans and was pretty angry her baby-young daughter's ears were now Swiss cheese. To this day they are a reminder of my outsider status and I look at them remembering where and how I grew up. In high school, I always wondered why no one else besides the latino kids had their ears pierced and even felt a little bit embarrassed when I compared my bejeweled self to the pristine, no-jewelry ways of my American peers. I was told by my friends that they had to literally beg their mother for a piercing only for the promise of one being allowed when she turned 16. Yikes. Add  to that about a dozen gold bangles I was into wearing as a child (because my mom wore them and I wanted to be just like her) and you've got yourself a little kid with a strong point of view on jewelry. 

Today I look at my piercings as something I was almost born with, since I can remember a time when I didn't have them. Having them be such a part of me allows me to occupy some time with coming up with amazing combinations of how to creatively style my ears. Will it be knitting my favorite Kathleen Whitaker earrings through one ear today? Maybe a combination of studs and bars? Maybe I'll be minimal and wear the tiniest Jennifer Meyer mini stud on each? Options, people. I has them.

Wearing: MADEWELL earrings (1 of this and 2 of these)  //  TOPSHOP coat  //  RUBY WOO lipstick  //  STILA cat eye liner

Thank you for taking my picture, mama!

The Huffy Secret Treasures Bike of Sweaters

I typically love an all-black wardrobe and this is no surprise here on my blog. But every so often I find something lovely like this Acne sweater to pull me out of my comfort zone of all-monochrome all-the-time and live in what is known as Girl World. This wool blend garment has the complete appeal of what fashion types call the "statement sweater" — the voluminous sleeves, a boxy man shape — yet looks like spun cotton candy from afar. (Disclaimer: this sweater is quite itchy, if you're allergic to some kinds of wool like I am, you will to best to skip this splurge as I eventually had to unless you want o live your life with a rash — yuck). What is it about this shade of pink that makes it so irresistible and almost punk to me? I think it's the fact that pink seems like an unapologetic color because it screams girl and there is no confusion about it. You can't hide under shades of black or act too tough in pink. You just have to wear it with confidence.

I grew up as the middle child and the only girl in the family. This meant that all my older brother's friends were cool older boys who loved to roll in the grass and play baseball, and my younger brother's friends were all silly young boys playing in the dirt. There was little room for pink in this  adolescent equation and all I wanted to do was fit in. I tried so hard to be one of the boys, but I was secretly pining for girl stuff, like dresses, or delicate ballet tutus, and even Easy Bake Oven bake offs.  My mom, in her all-knowing mom-wisdom, must have known my secret need for these girl things when she bought me the pinkest, princess-iest bike in town: the Huffy Secret Treasures bike. (You're welcome for the ad, BTW). There was no hiding my glee for it when I opened the box. It was a bike that only I could ride, because it was so pink, so girly, and so perfect.

This Acne sweater is the equivalent to that bike. You take it out of the box and wear it with confidence, no matter how boxy or voluminous the shape is.

Beauty note: The beauty gods smiled upon me last week because the cool gals at Refinery29 asked me what I thought of Maybelline's Color Elixir lip gloss and sent me a sample to try. You know what? I loved the Scarlet Red color. The deep red tones blend in with my natural lip color, but with a slight sheen (hard to capture in photos above), to produce a berry stained pout. I find this combination just the right amount of pink to compliment such a prolific Acne sweater moment. 

ACNE sweater / ZARA skirt / ZARA flats / THIERRY LASRY sunglasses / MAYBELLINE Color Elixir lip gloss (courtesy of Maybelline and Refinery29)

Muse: Jacquelyn Jablonski

A Mighty Wind

Photos by Nick Smith + Olga Montserrat 

I've been trying something new with my eye make up lately, experimenting with the cat eye with a variety of eye liners.

It was more frustrating than I ever thought it could be. It seems like such a simple task: find a tried-and true-black eye liner, with longevity, easy application, and the crisp ability to pull off a cat eye.

I've tried the easy-to-use marker type pens, only to be frustrated by their lack of ink within a week. MAC is guilty of this, and while Covergirl and Lancome were promising, they proved difficult with their brush tips and ink flow. So after hunting for combination of easiest application and best quality product when it came to reworking mistakes (because believe you me, there were tons) I've come to see the light: MAC fluidline eye-liner gel.

It's a little pot with a gel eye liner that you apply with the tiniest eye liner brush MAC sells. With a steady hand and a healthy dose of practice I was able to draw the slickest cat eye. The trick is twirling the brush like an architect does with a pencil on a blueprint — the idea being you always keep the thickness of the line you're drawing fine and sharp.

I suggest having a Q-tip dipped in a good eye makeup remover to help with the fact that you're not a professional make up artist. I like YSL eye makeup remover fluid because it's gentle on my skin.

Warning: be careful if you make mistakes. You may experience a deep surge of frustration that makes you just want to wipe the whole damn thing off in one swoop of a cotton wipe. Resist this urge! You do not want to irritate such a delicate area of your face. Go easy on the eyes, people.

So voilà: success! Let's call this a "test drive" as I tried something a little more extreme and stark in these photos.  Or call it "hurry, we're losing the light," whichever you prefer.

Beauty Spotlight: Chloé Spring 2011 Dewy, Bronzed & Natural