Love: Fabulous in February, Take Two

The wonderful Melissa of A Working Mom’s Closet has posted a challenge… to say three positive things about yourself every Monday in Feburary. The goal is to hold off winter blues and get a little positivity and self love happening around the blogosphere. At first this may not sound like a challenge at all, but most of us grew up in a culture where it’s not nice to say nice things about yourself. So, at the risk of sounding like an egomaniac, and defying culture norms, here are my next three things (I forgot last week like an idiot, but you can read week one here):

I love my style

I’ve had people call it different things from “retro chic” to “dirty librarian” but my style is all my own. I wear what makes me feel happy, confident, and sexy even when it breaks the traditional fashion “rules” (white after Labor Day, red lipstick for daytime).

I love that I’m blonde

It took a long time and a lot of bleach to get here, but I’m so happy with the dewy white-blonde color my hair has come out. It fits my personality, my coloring, my 1940s vibe and well, let’s face it, my blonde moments make a lot more sense now.

I love my resume

While my college buddies were out partying, I was working on homework, working multiple part-time jobs and building a future I could be proud of. I’m graduating with my master’s this spring, have a job I love, no debt and I’m truly proud of everything I’ve accomplished.

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That’s that, folks. Happy  Monday and be sure to post your own Fabulous in February!

Love: Gradient Nail Glitter

While browsing through all the fabulous things I could do with my nails if I weren’t an interpreter (which requires plain nails at all times so as not to be distracting) I absolutely fell in love with this gradient glitter from Funky Trend.

I generally try to avoid glitter on my nails since the infamous blue glitter incident of ’02 (my only excuse is that I was in high school), but there’s something so grown up about these flashy tips. Can’t you just picture them with a sparkly cocktail dress or against a simple black clutch?

As an added bonus: because the nail gets ‘natural’ close to the base, you could have quite a bit of grow-out before they started to look sloppy. So much more forgiving than dark colors that start to look grown-out after two days!

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Oh! And while we’re on a beauty post, if you want more info on the M.A.C. Wonder Woman collection I posted about last week, check out Vampy Varnish who got to try out all the colors and took photos of what they look like on real people! (so jealous!)

Love: Fabulous in February

The wonderful lady behind A Working Mom’s Closet has posted a challenge… to say three positive things about yourself every Monday in Feburary. The goal is to hold off winter blues and get a little positivity and self love happening around the blogosphere. At first this may not sound like a challenge at all, but most of us grew up in a culture where it’s not nice to say nice things about yourself. So, at the risk of sounding like an egomaniac, and defying culture norms, here are my first three things:

1. I love that I’m tall

I can see over people and things, my students never complain that they can’t see me when I interpret, and I can reach the top shelf of stores all by myself. I get comments pretty much every week about why tall girls shouldn’t wear heels (“aren’t you tall enough??”) but heels make me feel sexy and while my height might be a problem for other people, it’s never been for me.

2. I love my hair

I’ve put my hair through the wringer (and the bleacher, the flat ironer, and the hairdryer) and it still loves me back and behaves well. It’s been every color of the rainbow and changes nearly as often as my moods, but in a world where plain black clothes are the norm, hair is my little indulgence in self-expression.

3. I love my eyes

My eyes look just like my dad’s, the same dark brown and the same long lashes (and those lashes got me a modeling gig with Sebastian Trucco when I was younger!). For years, Brown Eyed Girl has been my favorite song, and while I played around with colored contacts for a bit, I just don’t feel right when brown eyes aren’t looking back at me in the mirror.

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So that’s it, there are my three positive things put out into the universe. Post your own at A Working Mom’s Closet!

Love: M.A.C. Wonder Woman for Spring 2011

Wonder Woman and M.A.C. by jennaw on Polyvore.com

Fair disclosure: I love M.A.C. and just about everything they make. If I had an unlimited makeup budget, I’d slather myself in the stuff every day. As it is, I have a few pieces that I mix with my drugstore finds.

Their limited edition collections always manage to find themes you might not associate with makeup (Hello Kitty?) and somehow make them work beautifully. I was excited to spot their latest collection over at Temptalia, though some of the colors leave me wondering. The bright blues and killer reds are definitely not work appropriate but on the right occasion they could really pop.

The full collection includes the makeup basics plus nailpolish, pigments, lipglass, brushes, makeup bags, and a t-shirt all in gorgeous packaging. Prices range from $14-$49.50. What do you think? Where and how would you wear these bold colors?

Love: 100 Words on Life

I’ve lived a very, very long time. At least it feels like it, though those with more than a quarter century under their belts might not agree with me. Be that as it may, I still feel as though I have something to contribute to the greater knowledge of fashion, confidence and life lessons. Here, my manifesto in exactly 100 words. Feel inspired? Write your own 100 words and I’ll link it here!

When you feel like shit, put on mascara – at least it will look dramatic if you cry

Pencil skirts will forever be sexy…

…so will red lipstick

Men and women can’t ever be just friends, unless the man is gay

Garter belts are more comfortable than pantyhose, and a whole lot sexier

If you can laugh at yourself, no one can have power over you

Confidence is enticing, so are high heels

Blondes really do have more fun

It’s better to like who you are than to care if anyone else does

Cutting your hair will change your life

Want to read more? Check out these fabulous bloggers who have written their own 100 words on life:

• Dear Winnie
• I’m Freestyling
• The Vintalogist
• Emily’s Fashion Finds
• Blah Blah Becky
• Rosco Valentine
• Butterfly Dreamer
• WobiSobi
• Let Them Eat Kate
• So What if I Like Pretty Things
• Le Mahogany Fashionista
• Sugar and Spice

Lust: Swarovski Crystal Lips

I’m dying over the cover of the latest subscriber cover of Harper’s Bazaar! These Swarovski crystal lips might not be a look for real life but on an editorial shoot they’re just ahhhh so beautiful! I did some looking around and found a couple more examples. What do you guys think? Is there a situation where you could get away with wearing these in real life?

LLL: Crystal Lips by jennaw on Polyvore.com

Lose: Dark Roots

Lose: Roots by jennaw featuring acrylic jewelry

I’m posting this fully aware that I’ll probably get some slack from the fashion gods but the dark roots trend is something I just can’t get behind. No matter who it’s on or how gorgeous the celeb, it just looks sloppy, lazy, and a little hooker-esque.

Being a bleach blonde myself (with a dark natural color), I know how time-consuming and expensive the upkeep can be, but if you’re going to make the commitment, go all the way! Between purple shampoos, volumizing mousse, round brushes and even hair mascara, there’s more than enough techniques available to keep your roots hidden in between colorings and you can work with your stylist to figure out a price package (stylists love blondes since we have to come in so often!). When my roots get bad again, maybe I’ll post a how-to blog on how to hide ’em.

Until then, check out more blondes behaving badly after the break.

How To: Apply Red Lipstick

I struggled with the idea of writing a fashion how-to. There are very few things in life I claim to be an expert in, and there are so many great fashion blogs out there already, would I really have something to contribute? But I find every time I wear this look I have people ask me how to do a perfect red lip. And after a Twitter conversation about red lipstick with the brains behind What Would a Nerd Wear, I knew it was fate.

There are as many different ways out there as there are shades of red, but I find this method lasts me all day with almost no smearing and very little touch-up.

You’ll need…

• A lip brush (mine is from an old kit)
• A lip stain (mine is Very Sexy Muse from Victoria’s Secret)
• Red lipstick (I use Clinique #95 Red Hot)
• Lipgloss (I’ve got Delux Beauty Crush Lip Gloss in Sweet Plum)

Start with a clean lip.

Apply a good coat of lip stain and LET DRY 2-3 minutes, otherwise the lipstick won’t go over it nicely. I use this is place of lipliner and find it holds up better and looks more natural as the lipstick wears off.

Apply a coat of your red lipstick. There’s lots of debate on using a lip brush or even your finger but I just apply straight from the tube. Then I smooth it out with a lip brush, I also think it helps it to stick but this could just be my imagination.

Apply a coat of lipgloss with your lip brush, starting in the center and blending out to the edges. If your lipgloss comes in a tube, I suppose you could apply it directly from the tube but the lipstick will turn your gloss red. Plus, I feel like I get better control with the brush. The gloss holds the lipstick in place and also keeps you from getting smears on your hair/face/clothes/glasses/boyfriend.

And that’s it! Around lunchtime I touch up any spots that are starting to get light and apply another coat of glass but it usually lasts all day with no worries.

What do you do? Any secrets you can share? Post in the comments below! 🙂

Lust: Kelly Osbourne’s Lavender Hair

Lusting is about the beautiful things that you can’t have in your life for one reason or another. With most Lust, Love, Lose posts it’s probably a financial reason, as much as I’d love to buy $5000 bags and $1000 shoes everyday, it’s just not in my (or most of our) budget. But sometimes a different reason keeps us from what we lust after. Such is the case with me and Kelly Osborne’s lavender hair. As much as I love the look, and am dying to go to my hair girl tomorrow and demand a similar hue, my professional career might suffer just a little. So, until I become so completely irreplaceable at work that I can do whatever I like – purple hair will stay on my lust list.

Lavender Lust by jennaw featuring tarina tarantino hair accessories