Words of Wisdom – Joan Didion

Joan Didion quote

***beauty always comes from within, xoxo behind the mirror***

A Snow Day!

SnowDay2a

I am a big fan of a good natural disaster. Not so much the ones that destroy people’s lives, but the ones that turn out to not be such a big deal. Like the way #Juno has affected me in New York City. My favorite thing to do on a snow day is nothing. Sit back, relax, make some tea, and watch Netflix.
Recently, I was given Kusmi Beauty Beverage Detox tea. This wonderful gift was brought to me by my friend Alienor all the way from Paris. I’ve since learned it’s widely available at most upscale grocery stores. Lately, I’ve been wanting to get more into tea. On our road trip down highway 1 we met a friend at an Asian (I think it was Tibetan) tea shop in Santa Cruz. It was the most amazing experience. The three of us shared kung fu tea over a beautiful draining table. I found the entire ritual so enchanting. Our friend poured some out over a frog for prosperity and we had a lovely afternoon together. It was nice to slow down for a minute with such a beautiful tradition. For thousands of years humans have relied on this little leaf for its ability to give us fresh perspective, a minute to reset. Amiram travels to China quite often. During his last trip, he was given this tea set. Since then, I’ve been dying to use it. Finally, a snow day! (more…)

How to Remove a Gel Manicure

gel1a

According to my sources (Google) the gel manicure has a bad reputation. And… rightfully so. Things weren’t so great in the beginning. For starters, they wreaked havoc on your nails. You were advised by everyone and anyone not to get them all the time. There was also that thing where you couldn’t get the nails wet before applying the gel. So, soaking them to push the cuticles back was out of the question. In general, things were a mess. But, I held on strong. Why? Because I believed in the gel manicure and all the promises that came with it.
Lucky for me, apparently all the science that needs to be done is done because scientists looked into the gel manicure and found ways to make it better. They’ve come along way over the years. (more…)

Go Long

Go Long10

(more…)

Do You Wear Eyeliner Everyday?

eyeliner4

I miss eyeliner. Today on the bus, four beautiful women sat across from me with the most perfectly done eyeliner and mascara. It was simple and elegant, the exact day time look you would expect from someone like Alexa Chung.
Had I seen each of these women separately I might have asked whose mascara they were wearing. However, I was sitting there sulking in my own self pity and couldn’t muster up a conversation with strangers. Most of the time I can’t muster up a conversation with strangers. It’s a New York thing.

My self pity was the result of the fact that I gave up on eyeliner. I wore mascara & eyeliner every day of my twenties. It was my thing that I didn’t leave the apartment without doing. Then, at some point in my thirties I ran out of fucks to give about eye makeup. I started developing styes (all the time!), I could never quite get all of it off, and it was five minutes of morning & night time that I easily traded in for five more minutes of sleep. Eyeliner was simply cut out of my life. But, lately I’ve been itching for some eye make-up. Last week I bought some liquid eyeliner thinking I was just going to bebop on home and do that perfectly without any practice. Ha!

eyeliner3

Luckily, the Make Up Forever Aqua Liner wasn’t too hard to master (or get looking good enough to leave the apartment). What I like most is the way it wipes off, almost, in streaks with a q tip. It’s impossible to get both eyes even on the first try so it’s nice to be able to take a little off without completely starting over.
I’m thinking it might be time for eyeliner and I to reunite our relationship. The styes were most likely the result of keeping my liner too long. So, I’ve declared to myself to throw out the liquid liners within a reasonable amount of time, no matter how much of it I did or didn’t use, and I will wash my mascara off at night before bed.

Does everyone else really wear eyeliner and mascara everyday?

***beauty always comes from within, photos by BtM, xoxo behind the mirror***

Another Hair Reinvention

HR3

For the last Hair Reinvention I thought about what I wanted to do for a long time: I stared at pictures of girls with silver locks, I spent an obscene amount of time agonizing over different shades of grey, and I went to the salon for multiple consultations.

This time was a lot different. I was over it. My roots had hit the almost 4 inch mark in the back and the idea of another 6 week touch up made me want to vomit. The time and commitment to my bleach blonde proved too annoying to justify the hot piece of ass I felt like with bleach blonde hair. I needed a break.

So without a single idea of what color I wanted, I called the salon and made an appointment. I didn’t have a picture, I had not spent any time thinking about this (what’s new? hello bangs!) and all I knew was this – I needed something close to my natural hair color that won’t need to be touched up in 6 weeks. (more…)

Wish You Were Here, Road Trip: HWY 1

pt. two

Next we made our way down to Big Sur stopping in Santa Cruz along the way. Santa Cruz is one of the sweetest little beach towns I have ever been to. The people were lovely, laid back and obviously understand the importance of enjoying all life has to offer.

After our impromptu stop, we made it to Big Sur. Over 1200 photos later, I understand completely why Henry Miller made this his home. Words cannot describe the magnificent energy Big Sur encompasses. This will not be my only trip to Big Sur. Amiram and I have already decided to go back and spend more time there, stopping by some of the wineries inland.

BigSur_a (more…)

Tuesday Tip: Nail Color

nail color 1

Cleaning excess dirt, oil, or moisturizer from your nails will ensure that the polish goes on properly and smooth.

***beauty always comes from within, photo from here, xoxo behind the mirror***

A Resolution of Sorts

A Resolution 1 (more…)

Pages:12»

Pin It on Pinterest