Ivory Angora Wool, Black Chrome Boots

It's all about juxtaposition and balance. Soft and hard, ivory and black, slouchy and fitted.

Sweater: Viktor & Rolf. Leggings: J. Crew. Booties: Diane von Furstenberg.

When I saw this Viktor & Rolf alpaca wool turtleneck tunic for sale on La Garconne, I was instantly drawn to its voluminous softness.

The sweater feels amazing in person. It is soft, fluffy, and drapes beautifully. The tunic can be worn either below or on the hips; I went with the latter in order to lengthen my legs.

I had no trouble deciding on what footwear to pair with the sweater: my Diane von Furstenberg leather booties. The gold band at the wooden heel and the seam running down the front terminating in a slightly pointed toe combine to make this a unique, eye-catching bootie.

For the final contrast, I went with bold garnet lips: Red My Lips by Ken Downing for Le Metier de Beaute. A single piece of jewelry was all the ensemble needed.

Conclusion: a pitch-perfect harmony of counterbalancing elements. If I do say so myself.

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Outfits of Year Past

This is what happened: the week after Christmas, we visited family out of town. Then when we returned, I was felled by a flu virus for a full seven days. I celebrated New Year's Eve with kleenex and throat drops. So I'm sorry for being late to the "first post of the year" rounds.

I'm not even sure what to say in such a post. My blog is still taking shape, and I'm still learning what it wants to be. This started out as a fashion blog, where I could share my outfits of the day and shoe obsessions. My efforts were hampered somewhat by the fact that I had nothing more than a webcam with poor distance resolution. Then I got a iPhone, and over the summer I segued into close-ups of nail polishes and lipsticks, and in the process got to connect with several amazing individuals in the beauty community. The very first swatch that I posted was of NARS Funny Face.

Forgive the pinup pose. Great bracelet, though, isn't it?

And now, I've been fortunate to be gifted a Nikon D3100. What's next? I think simply better photos. I'll be able to show outfits in more detail, and post more accurate swatches. I'm excited.

In the meantime, I thought I'd take a second look at some of my favorite outfits, in all their pixelated, low-res glory. Shall we?

Depression Era Inspiration

Tartan, Not Tart

Camo Blocking

In Black and Cream

Heron and Ombre

One Necklace, High and Low

Like I said in my relaunch post, "This is about adornment. This is about the carapace one individual builds, magpie-like out of shiny and silky objects, as a bulwark and a billboard."

Why do you adorn yourself?

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Face: Chanel by Lloyd Cassler

Doesn't this face look photoshopped? That is the magic of Chanel in the hands of Lloyd Cassler.

At Best Things in Beauty's recommendation, I made an appointment with Lloyd Cassler of Chanel at Saks Mazza during the Care for Kids charity event. Yesterday evening the place was packed, and despite the chaos swirling around us, Lloyd gave me his undivided attention. Actually, the setting seemed to fit his dynamic style of working. He will quickly and decisively apply something to your face, then step back and freeze like a painter or sculptor as he judges his own work, then step back in and adjust, bringing in other colors and tools as needed, occasionally zooming across the floor to retrieve something himself. I am deaf, and Lloyd readily communicated makeup instructions and tips to me via gestures and notes (it also helps that he's very easy to lip-read!). I walked away with not just lovely Chanel products, but also a wealth of knowledge.

On my face Lloyd used Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup SPF 15 in B30 Beige-Sable. He emphasized that I should use this foundation more as a concealer, merely blending down the bridge of my nose and outward along the naso-labial folds, chin, and forehead. My foundation shouldn't be a mask, and indeed Vitalumiere Aqua felt weightless on my skin. I also appreciate the fact that it has mineral SPF in addition to chemical SPF.

I had told Lloyd that I liked a bold red lip, and otherwise to have fun. For my eyes, he chose the Les 4 Ombres Regard Perle Quadra. First he took the bottom two shades on the brush simultaneously and applied them all over the eyelid. Then he took the top two shades, again simultaneously, and blended them along the crease all around the eye orb. Under the brows he laid down the gold shade, then layered the pink shade thickly along the inside of the top lash line, and finally applied the darkest shade to both the top and bottom lash lines.

By the way, I initially misread the darkest shade as a simple black-gray. It wasn't until I looked at other swatches online that I realized it's actually a dark sea-green. It's a lovely, luxurious color. This versatile quad is a good addition to my burgeoning collection.

Before the eyeshadow, he lined my upper lash line with Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliner in Ebene; afterward, he showed me how I could amp the look up for evening by lining my top lash line with Automatic Liquid Eyeliner in Brun. The brown is so dark it looks black at first glance. Lloyd then enhanced my lashes with Inimitable Intense Mascara in Noir, demonstrating his unique technique: first, hold the wand vertically and run it along the very tips of your lashes, then go horizontal and gently brush the top side of your lashes before switching to the bottom side as usual. He only did the upper lashes, and left the bottom lashes alone. Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil in Brun Naturel cleaned up my brows.

For my cheeks, he chose the flattering Joues Contraste in Rose Ecrin. He also cooled down my natural redness with a pale pink-lavender blush, the name of which I didn't catch. For under my eyes and spot treatment, he used Correcteur Perfection in 20 Beige Ivoire; he'd also repurposed it as eyeshadow primer. To finish off my face, he swiped Base Lumiere Illuminating Makeup Base on top of my foundation, explaining that this method lights up the face. Last but not least, he honored my request for a bold lip and took inspiration from the holiday collection: Rouge Allure Famous with Extrait de Gloss Triomphal layered on top, lined with Aqua Crayon Lip Colour Stick in Spice. What a red!

Lloyd Cassler gave me a simple but sophisticated fall/winter look that can easily be adapted to either daytime or evening wear. I swear I didn't touch these photos. It's all Lloyd and Chanel.

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Face: Le Metier de Beaute Oscar de la Renta & Silk Road Kaleidoscopes

Unexpectedly, I have found myself the lucky owner of a rare Le Metier de Beaute Oscar de la Renta Kaleidoscope.

Yesterday I visited the Le Metier de Beaute counter at Neiman Marcus Mazza in DC simply to see if they had received the new Ken Downing Lip Cremes, Purple Haze and In the Know (reviewed by Messy Wands). They did not, but I hated to leave empty-handed. The sales associate set me up with Bali and Uma Paro, two close-enough lip glosses that will serve in the interim. Since I already was looking at the Bordeaux lipstick and nail lacquer sets by Ken Downing, she swatched on her own hand all three lipsticks from the collection and showed me just how many delicious combinations one could make by layering Bali or Uma Paro on top. I decided I'd also get Wine on the Vine/Bodacious Bordeaux and Red My LIps/Gypsy Rose Me.

I asked about eyes to go with bold berry red lips, a holiday party look of sorts, and the sales associate promptly steered me into a makeup chair. She laid down Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Complexe SPF 20 (I missed the shade number) as foundation, then blushed and contoured with all four shades in the Flawless Face Kaleidoscope. The result was lovely. Starting in on the eyes, she brought out the Silk Road Kaleidoscope, which I already had. I told her as much and said I'd be interested to see how she uses these colors. Perhaps she was determined to impress me with something new, because she then brought out a second kaleidoscope.

This one looked familiar, with its rich creamy red top disc, and when the sales associate told me it was the limited edition Oscar de la Renta palette, I nearly squealed aloud. Apparently this location received only ten of these kaleidoscopes. I had drooled over Best Things in Beauty's swatches, but since the edition was for Fashion's Night out in New York City only, I didn't entertain any ideas of acquiring it myself. And now I was going to see it on my own face!

Below is my reconstruction of the steps taken using the Silk Road and the Oscar de la Renta to achieve my look. Let me preface this with a couple of caveats. 1.) The layered eyeshadows have a depth, richness, and subtlety that my photos absolutely do no justice to. It was pitch dark out by the time I got home, and I spent an hour snapping photos with my iPhone 3G in no fewer than three rooms in an attempt to capture the best lighting conditions. I've included in this post a variety of shots under warm indoor lighting to give you an idea of the chromatic range. Interestingly, the purple-blue-green appears only at a distance; close up, only the brown shades are visible. 2.) The sales associate and I communicated through gestures and a few written notes--I'm deaf--so there are no verbal instructions to accompany these steps. The sales associate had me hold a mirror so I could look at the results in between each step. As a result, I am able to remember fairly well where each shade goes, with only one or two uncertainties. Let's get to it.

1.) Smudge Dualistic Eye Pencil in Champagne all over eyelid, then blend with brush. Line upper and lower lash line, plus inner lower rim.

2.) Apply Silk Road first shade (Tapestry) along upper and lower lash line.

3.) Apply Silk Road second shade (Damask) along upper and lower lash line.

4.) Apply Silk Road third shade (Ikat) along crease.

5.) Apply Silk Road fourth shade (Brocade) along upper lash line.

6.) Line upper and lower lash line with Liquid Eyeliner in Noir.

7.) Apply Oscar second shade (shimmery champagne highlighter) to inner corner, all the way up to the brow bone.

8.) Apply Oscar fourth shade (neutral pink-peach eyeshadow) to arch, beneath brows.

9.) Apply Oscar second or fourth shade (can't remember, sorry) along upper and lower lash line.

10.) Apply Oscar third shade (smoky navy-green shimmer) along outer half of bottom lash line, and along outer half of crease.

11.) Apply several layers of Anamorphic Lash Mascara in Midnight Blue.

12.) Tidy up brows with Brow Bound Eyebrow Pencil (most likely in Mahogany).

13.) Line lips with Lip Liner in Rose.

14.) Apply Oscar first shade (red lip lacquer) using lip brush.

15.) Layer over lips Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss in Bali.

Ta-dah. As I said, pictures truly do not do justice. The directions are the important part, so that other readers who wish to can recreate the look. (Of course, one can always experiment!) The end result is worth it. Other sales associates kept coming over to us and checking out our progress. Ileea, if I have got her name right, did a remarkable job. This look is meant to be dramatic, perfect for going out to a classy nightclub or a luxe cocktail party. I was so sad I had no place to be that night!

A couple of comments on the quality and performance of the products. The eyeshadows performed beautifully, layering and blending together to achieve a true depth that some other makeup lines can lack. The Oscar de la Renta lip lacquer initially looked shrill under the fluorescent lights, but when I got home and looked at it in more natural lighting, it turned out to be a very classic and wearable blue-leaning red. Because it's a lacquer, it fills in lip lines and smoothes out any imperfections, but it's also very slippery: anything that comes near your lips is going to end up with some red on it! The only product that I didn't care for was the Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Complexe. I felt that it didn't "disappear" on my skin, and that it actually brought out tiny bumps all over my face. However, I am sensitive to chemical SPF, so it may have been a reaction on my skin's part; also, I was wearing mineral SPF moisturizer beneath (Tarte Smooth Operator) and the two products may have not mixed well. I can't recommend this foundation.

Items from the look that I took home with me:
Oscar de la Renta Kaleidoscope, Bali Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss,
Midnight Blue Anamorphic Mascara, Champagne Dualistic Eye Pencil.

Further swatches, for those who may be interested: close-ups by Beauty Moogle Zone of the Oscar de la Renta Kaleidoscope; and swatches of the Silk Road Kaleidoscope by Modesty Brown and Messy Wands.

The whole experience was wonderful, and I learned a lot. I'm going to have fun playing with my Le Metier de Beaute Oscar de la Renta Kaleidoscope.

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Loot: Tassels and Teak

I have my packages delivered to my parents' because someone is always there to receive it. Through a conjunction of stars, when I visited home last Friday there were not three or four but five packages waiting for me. One of these went up to my waist. It contained the Tassels Away Boots from Anthropologie.

I can announce that I have found one more pair of boots that does at least a decent approximation of meeting my skinny calves. As soon as I read a review complaining that the shaft was too narrow, I hit the checkout button. In the one week since, nearly all sizes have sold out. I'm a nine.

These boots caught my eye when they first appeared on the website, thanks to the unusual flare at the ankle. The back especially is darling.










I was unsure, though, of how the boot would look in person, until I saw the model shots.

 

The boots look surprisingly elegant and delicate, and even with the flare the ankle still is slimming. I especially liked how the color was able to go with black in the second photo. (Although I can now say that while the boots are built beautifully, cycling in them is out of the question.) The styling along with the review convinced me to bite.

Trying them on, I found the boots to be the perfect balance of sturdy and slender. The shaft is soft while the foot and heel are stiff. There is no annoying wiggle room at all. Here is how they looked on my first wearing:

Forgive the mess. My parents' house is under perpetual remodeling, and we haven't installed my new closet doors yet. I test-walked the boots at Trader Joe's and the bookstore, and since it was chilly I popped on my favorite hat.

These are my first pair of heeled boots, also. I can now rest content. Until I decide I need an eighth pair of boots.

...

Yesterday I said I'd present a closer look at this statement neckpiece. It's the Teak Web Necklace from Anthropologie.

It has sold out already. It's a terrific, show-stopping necklace. It does look odd just lying there in the photo, and I picked it up only because it went on sale and the reviews all were glowing. Once I saw it in person, I fell in love. It's dramatic yet playful, a breath of fresh air.

Description: A chunky statement strand spun of agate, jasper, moonstone, cat's eye and gracefully handcarved slabs of wood. By Pam Hiran.








Yesterday, virtually every co-worker who saw me remarked on and complimented my necklace. Fabulous. Even if I did forget to remove the tag in these close-ups:

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