Fall/Winter Hosiery: Hold-ups

Lately, I have been wearing hold-ups because it is chilly, but hasn't been so cold that I feel like I am catching a draft!  I already have too much hosiery, but I love looking at what's out there.  Although I will say that a few years ago I did learn  that I need lace-top because they have silicone backing that hold well against the skin.  The ones with the thick elastic just squeeze the hell out of my thighs and then roll down as the day progresses. So I recommend lace-top thigh-highs.  I have a couple different brands, and I can't say that I can tell the difference.

Pretty Polly has some nice hold-ups with a small lace band.  And how cute is their pin-up-inspired cover? $17.95

These Falke Peacock Top tights are so cute! and tempting! $49

These Charnos Ava hold-ups have a gorgeous floral motif as a "back seam" $22.85

I first heard about Secrets in Lace because Dita von Teese wears them because they are made in the traditional vintage style.  They also make a large variety of sizes.

Another great thing about thigh-highs is that it evokes a sexy/vintage feeling. Pin-up cartoons from the first half of the 1900's were mostly about showing women in their states of undress or undressing.  Whereas nowadays the image of thigh-high stocking tends to be only thought of as oversexualized, back then nylons were the only sheer leg coverings available.  And, with a casual look over pin-up illustrations from that time period, the act of showing the tops or putting them on was also considered sexy!

The Pin-up Source is a great source of vintage and contemporary pin-up cartoons, most of which are NOT SAFE FOR WORK.  And guess what? There were/are women pin-up artists too! I had no idea. After the jump are some illustrations with women wearing hold-ups that I like:

Hair Color for Fall/Winter

I will be keeping my hair a deep reddish-brown shade, but here are some hair color inspirations for anyone looking for a chance before the year ends (it's getting close!).

For people with fair skin, white-blond is really hot now:

Soft black looks good on a variety of skin tones.  A good thing about having uber-dark hair is that your nail polish, eye shadow, and lipstick will "pop" against the contrast but not look too garish.

Dark red/copper would be great for people looking for something warm and don't want to be washed out when winter arrives and turns everyone's skin a shade of grey :-/

photo credits: vogue.fr, christope-robin.com, and howdoshop.com

Tom Ford Nail Lacquer Fall Shades

I was browsing Bergdorf Goodman's site admiring Tom Ford's nail polish range that will be hitting stores on November 1, but I can't imagine paying $30 for a nail polish, especially when it is 12 mL - smaller than OPI, Zoya, and even Chanel.  That being said, I love all of the colors and these are the ones I thought were exceptionally gorgeous:

African Violet

Ginger Fire

Viper

Indian Pink

Bordeaux Lust (I will always love a vampy red)

photo credit: bergdorfgoodman.com

First Time Reactions

I tried two new product lines yesterday, so here is a quick review of my initial thoughts on these products.

I tried 3 out of the 6 TiGi S-Factor products that I got in the mail ( I ordered the Lisa kit for $30 and the Vera kit for $25). Let me begin by saying that these are loaded with silicones and parabens, so if you are averse to using any products that have ingredients from these chemical families, then these products are not for you.  Also, they all have a fruity scent, which is usually something that I hate, but these smell pretty nice.

First, I used the Lusterizer on wet hair.  I could see the shimmery particles in the products and only used less than a dime-sized amount.  I have a lot of thick hair that is below my collarbone, and that seemed to be enough.  After my hair was dry I did notice how soft and smooth my hair felt. My hair wasn't as shiny as a mirror, but I am not a professional so I couldn't feel sad about that.  "So far so good!" I thought.

Before flat ironing I sprayed about 5 sprays of the Flat Iron Shine Spray  directly on my hair and another spray on my hand and ran that over my ends.  The major difference I saw yesterday than when I usually flat iron is that my hair just about straightened out in one pass of my flat iron.  Also, I am in dire need of a trim, and my  ends were able to straighten out much better and not look as raggedy as they really are.  I am not entirely sure if it was the Lusterizer or the Flat Iron Spray, but my hair was looking fantastic after flat ironing.  And no crazy static or poofiness that I have been experiencing lately!

Lastly, I sprayed the Vivacious Hairspray on a comb and combed through to try to smooth down my short flyaways.  That didn't work, so I wasn't immediately impressed by the hairspray.  Hours later before I went to bed I put my hair in 5 pincurls, which is something that I habitually do because I don't like my hair all over the place while I am sleeping.  Today I undid my hair was was SHOCKED because the pincurls left my hair in soft curls around my head. Can you imagine having a hair spray that set a hairstyle that was created hours after usage? amazing. 

In sum, so far the S-Factor products by TiGi are an enthusiastic thumbs up.

On to what else I tried last night: Biologique Recherche Lotion P50 1970.  First things first: This. Stuff. Friggin. STINKS.  The stench didn't dissipate for about 10 minutes or so after application. Also, part of my face felt very slightly tingly/numb.  Both of these negative points I was aware of from all of the reviews on Makeup Alley and Youtube.  When I woke up this morning, I noticed that my skin looked and felt a bit smoother, so I am hoping to be able to give a good review in a few weeks, but we will see!  I got the smaller size from beautyhabit to try first, but there is a bigger size that has a better price of $50 at acnewizard.com.


photo credits: tigistore.com and beautyhabit.com

Anglomania: "With Ur Love" by Cher Lloyd

OK,I am soooo in love with this song. I also think Cher looks absolutely gorgeous in this video. I love her makeup!



Eyelashes:

Density, rather than length (like Kim Kardashian's lashes),  is key in this look.  Here are a few options:

Ardell #103, $4.50

NYX Fabulous Lashes 119, $4.50

MAC 6 Lash,  $15

Blush:

Super pretty and natural is the look here.

Milani Baked Blush  Rose d'Oro, $8

Youngblood Cosmetics Crushed Mineral Blush Tulip, $22

Nars The Multiple Orgasm, $39

Illuminizer:

Revlon Face Illuminator Pink Light, $14

St. Tropez Skin Illuminator, $22.50

DuWop Doubleglow7, $25

Lipgloss:

No shimmer or sparkles here, just a shiny pink creme.

Guerlain KissKiss Gloss Rose Florida 860, $30.50

Chanel Allure Laque  Ming, $32

photos from respective sites linked.

Anglomania: Jessie J's Shiny Hair

I have two posts about stuff that I am loving that happens to come out of England.  First off, Youtube recommended this video (yeah, I've been finding solace from schoolwork in Youtube music videos) and all I could think about is how shiny Jessie J's hair is!



I googled "Jessie J shiny hair" and this was the first video that came up:





Now, I was already looking for a good product to tame flyaways and static.  Tragically, as I mentioned in my last post, I re-discovered Makeup Alley.  This is tragic mostly for my wallet.  So quite a few of TiGi's S-Factor's products were highly recommended, as well as on sleekhair.com.  The blow that Makeup Alley dealt me was that a member said that she got the products from TiGi's website in a bundle deal.  So yeah, fast forward to an hour to two later when I bought two bundles, all for Lusterizer and the Flat Iron Shine Spray.  Between those two packages, I am expecting 6 products (that I probably don't need, yipe!) on Friday.  I cannot wait to try the Lusterizer! I will report back on the weekend when I straighten my hair.

Impatience and a Cleanser Formulated in 1933

A month ago I ran low on the cleanser I was using at the time, Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash so I went to Ulta to pick up a new cleanser.  I was really only looking for something that satisfied the requirements of being cheap and not having sodium laurel/laureth sulfate.  I picked up So Totally Clean by Formula 10.0.6 because it fit my two constraints.  At night I need a traditional cleanser after "cleansing" my face with grapeseed oil.  But this 10.0.6 stuff is a watery liquid, so it is not a good tool to remove oil.  So I figured that I should check Makeup Alley for a cleanser to use. 

I went to the "Top Picks" and what is on the first page? So Totally Clean by Formula 10.0.6 (under Bonne Bell).  It is rated 4.4/5 lippies and has been reviewed by 34 people.  And at 91% of reviewers saying that they would purchase again, I figured this must be a great cleanser.  Also, according to the reviews, there is a reason why this has been made since 1933 - consumer loyalty.  A lot of the reviewers that I read have been using this product for DECADES.  The only thing that I am loyal to is my Dr. Eckstein Krauter Supreme night cream, and I will use that product forever because it works.  So this past weekend I decided to incorporate this product into my routine, but in the morning because I only swipe rose water over my face.  So far, my face has been soft every day.  I also learned early on, this product should go NOWHERE near your eyes - it will burn like a politician in hell.

So where does the "impatience" come from? I just ran out of facial exfoliators.  So taking advantage of the BeautyHabit friends & family discount, I ordered Biologique Recherche's Lotion P50 1970.  If Courtney Love, who is almost 50 and has been a rock star for the majority of her life, has pretty nice looking skin and says that she swears by this, it is worth a shot!  It also has great reviews on Makeup Alley.  So it came today, but I just started using 10.0.6 regularly, so I have to wait to introduce a new element to my skincare routine in order to see if it makes a difference =( So far I can say that words fail me to describe the awful stink that Lotion P50 emits.  But ugggh I can't wait to use it!!!  Maybe next week I will use it once at night - a girl has got to exfoliate, right? 

From what I can see, they both have "bad" or super strong things for your skin.  For So Totally Clean, alcohol denat is the first ingredient listed, lactic acid is fourth, and fragrance is fifth. Theoretically awful, right?   For P50, phenol is third, vinegar is fifth, and lactic acid is eighth.   So basically, these products work by burning your skin off! Just kidding,but maybe not. 

I will try to report back in a few weeks about a conclusion about 10.0.6.  But the trick is to use this as directed.  No rinsing off after!