“Optimism, by the way, is not a superficial attitude. It’s a very muscular attitude. It’s a bold attitude that says no matter what, I can find a way. I can find the resources to deal with this.”
— Dr. Ned Hallowell
Best-selling author and psychiatrist
Maybe I’m crazy. Maybe I’m just annoying or overly self-conscious or annoyingly over self-conscious. It’s very silly to think about but essentially I have a pseudo-stalker, middle school crush-esque relationship with lipstick.
If you show my picture to the cashiers at any CVS or Target and ask if they recognize me, they’d reply “Oh, you mean the girl who lives in the makeup aisle?” without even batting an eye.
It is there where I stare longingly at the gorgeous lipsticks on display, picking up the tubes one by one and fantasizing about the day I’d be cool enough to actually wear them. I’ve always been envious of girls who wear lipstick, admiring their confidence and fashion ferocity. But me? The colors are so beautiful but I’d just look stupid. It was comical to even think I could ever be allowed to graduate from my tinted lip balm training wheels. No matter how much I wished it, it was not in my cards to be a Girl Who Wears Lipstick.
TRIVIA TIME: Do you know what separates Girls Who Wear Lipstick from women who don’t?
Wearing lipstick.
This whole thing sounds positively ludicrous, I know. But when life is stressful, overwhelming and often confusing, it gets easier and easier to feel unenthusiastic about yourself. And that sucks. Top it all off with chronically chapped lips that don’t look supple and glamorous despite all the water consumed and super-strength chapstick purchased and I’ve been feeling like all sorts of nasty grossness.
A realization struck. It was time to kill two birds with one stone pet multiple dogs with one hand. I could infuse more fun into my life, make my lips pretty, and actualize my personal style/makeup aisle fantasies in one simple and cost-effective way:
Wearing lipstick.
Drugstore lipsticks are a wonderful way to boost your look, mood, and confidence without spending a whole lot (compared to fancy makeup brands, at least). A little pop of color can certainly go a long way! Here are the ones I picked up:
I researched the hell out of my options before unleashing my beast in the closest makeup aisle, ultimately deciding on the shades above. Sure, I could make my selections just based on what struck my fancy in the store, but then
a) my shopping basket would overfloweth, and
b) I’d be broke.
My lips are pretty pigmented to start with (I think that’s the terminology? Please excuse the newbie) and my Norwegian skin is not unlike a ball of fresh mozzarella. So, I thank the beauty bloggers with similar skin/lip tones whose pictures I stalked for three days straight to ensure I was making okay choices.
1. Closed mouth smiles are really hard. Like, really hard. Am I in pain? Disgusted? Uncomfortable? About to burst into tears? No, I’m just trying to smile with my mouth shut so you can actually see the lipstick. While apparently looking like a Grade A goober.
2. No lip liner was used in the making of this blog post. I’m the queen of simplicity and winging it. And I don’t have the attention span or patience yet.
3. Lipstick shades look different depending on the lighting, camera, and computer monitor. I tried to show you multiple pictures — from both my digital camera and smartphone — for the shades I felt weren’t accurately represented in my initial photos. Annoyingly, that may have been for naught because they all look different depending on what computer/phone screen you’re using. Hmph!
4. There are a lot of awkward selfie armpits. Avoiding them was a struggle. Also, please excuse my wild, frizzy hair — I took these photos #straightoutta the shower.
Let’s go!
Getting a “nude” lipstick shade was on my to-do list, and I feel surprisingly satisfied with my first pick! “Nude and the City” doesn’t appear too brown, wash me out too much, or look generally heinous — so, Continue reading “Happiness on the Cheap with Drugstore Lipstick”
Last month my sister Rochelle adopted a new dog to live with her in her new Brooklyn studio apartment. His name is Henry and he’s a terrier mix!
I had already given Rochelle an apartment-warming gift, and I obviously had to give Henry a dog-warming gift. I knew I wanted to craft him something, but there was one problem: my sister is basically the most crafty person in the world. Anything I made him, she would be able to make for him ten times better and faster.
For this reason I knew I had to keep it simple and effective.
In my internet travels I stumbled across this adorable and incredibly easy craft: “Easiest Upcycled Dog Collar Ever!” from the Sew Doggy Style blog. It was the perfect gift! My sister loves throwing parties and Henry would be such a dapper doggie host in a little collared dress shirt accessory. Plus, Rochelle is the shop owner/seamstress behind Etsy’s Brooklyn Bowtied, so he would look like such a cute little fancy man wearing a collar/bow tie combo.
I decided I wanted to make three different collars for Henry, so I rallied my beloved crafty companion Athena and went to the thrift store. Rochelle told me that Henry’s neck size is 13 inches. Because Athena’s dog is also teeny, we took a trip to the little boys’ section. Some little boy dress shirts are labeled S/M/L instead of by neck measurements, so I brought my measuring tape to double check sizes just in case.
Here are the shirts we picked out!
You have to make sure of two things when picking out shirts for this project: Continue reading “DIY Doggie Dress Shirt Collar”
Today’s Pretty Picks post is dedicated to two things I hold dear to my heart: Disney Princesses and Etsy.
I highlighted some of my favorite listings that feature unique items/gifts for the Disney Princess lover in your life (but especially me… *hint hint*).
Take a look at my favorites and share some of yours in the comments!
I’ve been in love with these Disney Princess-inspired aprons since I stumbled across a photo of them awhile back on Pinterest.
As an adult Disney Princess lover, I often come across the issue that the cutest apparel only comes in size itty-bitty, which is totally unfair.
Luckily, Etsy artists like MySweetGeorgia have heard our prayers and made princess aprons in adult sizes too!
Looking for an apron for the bite-sized princess in your life? Here are some child options offered by Etsy seller SweetEllasDesigns!
Isn’t it weird how we just stumble on some things?
My hard drive failed this weekend, unfortunately, and I’m currently in the process of transferring my old files onto what feels like a brand new computer (I’m going to take this moment to say GET A BACK-UP DRIVE if you do not already have one, because you can lose EVERYTHING you have on your computer at the drop of a hat). Since not all files on my back-up drive are relevant or useful to me now, I’m opening many I don’t remember to see if they’re worth keeping.
Under my Documents folder, I saw this one Word Document I don’t recall titled “Life Lessons.”
Curious, I clicked on its icon. Up pops a page that is completely blank minus one short, unassuming sentence at the top. All it says is this: Continue reading “Accidental Hard Drive Wisdom”
The Cheerful Times 