'You should never have chipped nail polish.
Either it looks good or you don't wear it'
Those words belong to a friend of mine's old friend. I have never met this person, but I imagine her being a very well-put-together woman, with soft white hair tied up in a bun, a simple string of pearls around her long neck and her hands resting on her lap. Perfect.
I thought a lot about these words, every time I looked at my hands, to be precise. See, my nails are never perfect. My nail polish is never not chipped. Sometimes it chips within the first hour of wearing it. I blamed the polish, the top coat, my impatience. But I don't think that's right. The thing is, I use my hands. They're in my hair when I'm thinking, in my mouth when I'm nervous. They restlessly run up and down my skin right there where a mosquito decided to leave a bite. They tap on every surface, slide on every cheek. They go through water and dirt and flaky lips. They are covered now in ink and now in soap. And in this vortex of skin and walls and paint, some nail polish gets lost. It's the sacrifice that my life requires, and I'm not mad about it.
So I decided to start this series to celebrate the beauty of chipped nails. The beauty of slightly faded eyeliner after a night out and messy hair after a rough morning. The beauty of something that's not perfect, because life got in the way.
Here I'm wearing L'Orèal Hypnotic Red, a beautiful deep red and a dupe for Essie's Wicked. Two coats, chipped.
Maybe you won't see her right away. No, maybe you'll get into the club and head straight to the bar. 'I'll have a gin tonic, please'. You'll awkwardly sip, trying to avoid the straw, and look around for fresh meat. You'll dance, barely. Let's say you'll walk into the middle of the dance floor and stand there, gently bobbing, still too much blood in your veins to jump around like a restless monkey. We'll leave that for the end of the night. You'll see someone, through the blinding lights. You'll reach her, touch her, breathe her in. You'll feel her body before having ever heard her voice. But she's just a piece of stardust, fleeting, like the lights she'll disappear under. Your mouth will taste like alcohol at this point. Yours and hers. Nothing human here. So you'll escape. 'I'm heading out for one second, mate' you'll try to mouth, but your mate is at his monkey jumping stage and couldn't care less. It will be cold outside, so much more than you were expecting. You'll put a cigarette in your mouth and hug it with your hands, to not let the wind kill the flame and to try to warm up a bit. And then, then you'll see her. She'll be leaning on the balcony, only one without a death threat between her lips. She'll have Bambi eyes and Snow White lips. She's not a piece of stardust, no, she's the whole outer space. You'll stare at her, at her lips parting. She'll bat her eyelashes and blow your mind. You'll try and peek at the constellations growing on her skin. She'll smile and the Milky Way will be a dull smattering of explosions in the sky.
You'll look at her, stargazing.
The Facts
Brand: Tricky Hair
Type: False Lashes
Pros: super mega soft. They have a pretty thick bar which makes them quite easy to apply, even for a lashes n00b like me. Long enough to cover my big ass eyes. The packaging is super cute and luxurious and more practical than normal lashes packaging since it's magnetic.
Cons: they're quite out there. Personally, I prefer a more subtle look so these are a bit too much. But if you're into the dramatic look these may be right up your alley.
Would Repurchase It? not this style, but they are the softest and more fluttery lashes I've ever had nonetheless.
Bonus Points: 100% mink fur, free international shipping.
Wait a second...
These lashes were kindly sent to me by Tricky Hair. Tricky Hair sells clip in hair extensions and 3D Mink Eye Lashes. I did not receive any compensation for writing this post and all opinions are my own.
As I said
previously, I love fashion week for the inspiration it gives me with make-up. Fun, minimalistic, a little overboard, but always stunning. Those are all words you can also use to describe
Path McGrath's make-up look for DKNY for this NYFW show. Dark lipstick topped with, at first, just a hint of gold on the cupid's bow, and then, as the show was coming to an end, glitter and sparkles all over. The rest of the face was kept minimal, a blank canvas to show off this season's new hit jewelry: your lips.
wearing NYX Velvet Lip Cream in Copenaghen
From your skin's train of thoughts:
"I hate Mondays. Yes, I hate them, too. She doesn't let me sleep, forgets to hydrate me and then drowns me in make up, all. day. Sometimes she even puts me to sleep with that nasty stuff on! So yeah, I hate Mondays, and yes, I'm acting up, could you blame me? Oh my God, stop trying to squeeze me, girl! Can't you see this is only making it worse? Oh, I see. She's coming at me with the big guns now. She wants to shut me up with clay. Ugh, I hate it. Noo! She's putting that horrible thing on me! Oh no! And the smell, ew the smell... wait. This smells kinda nice actually. What, what is this? Coffee? Oh, I feel so much more awake already! I just feel... smoother. But yum, is this chocolate? Is she giving me chocolate?! Aaah, praise the lord. Ok, I'm calming down now. I feel so good, it's like this thing is lighting me up. Wow, this... this is good. Thank you, girl. I guess Mondays aren't so bad, after all."
3 ingredient DIY mocha mask
purifying, brightening and smoothing
- Mix equal parts of ground coffee, cocoa powder and clay (I used this one).
- Add water until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Apply and let it dry.
- Wash off with warm water and using the ground coffee as a gentle scrub. Pat dry.
He looks at the wooden floor below his feet and thinks about her. He thinks about the first time he brushed her face with his fingers, the first time they kissed. Her skin smelling like a bakery on Sunday morning: almond and vanilla and sugar and everything nice. That's not the way humans smell, he remembers thinking, she must not be human then. A fairy, maybe. He pictures her laying next to him, blades of sunlight caressing her smile. His fingertips bouncing on that tiny trampoline that were her cheeks. He remembers her at night. Silk and musk. Her face flushed, ripe, juicy, like a peach that is just waiting to be bitten. Storm, then quiet. There she was, a tiny figure sitting in front of a dull mirror. She's busy, massaging her cheeks, applying potions and lotions, turning her face into a miracle.
The Facts
Name: Rejoice Light Facial Day Cream
Brand: Antipodes
Type: Day Cream
Price: €26,10 for 60 ml
Pros: Smells heavenly, makes skin plumper and tighter the moment you put it on.
Cons: may feel a little oily at first, but absorbs pretty quickly. Definitely not as light as the name says. The tin tube looks cool af but will probably be a hassle once the cream starts running low.
Would Repurchase It? hell yas.
Bonus Points: organic, ingredients 100% from natural origin and 71% from organic cultivation.
Concealers are my life.
Since I've been blessed both with a spot prone skin and some genetic dark circles I really can't live without them. Those are two recent additions to my collection, both from Maybelline and both pretty cheap.
I bought this the glorious day I discovered
& Other Stories had opened a store in Rome and have been impatiently waiting for Spring to bust it out.
There was a time, a handful of months ago, where the
it product in the beauty world wasn't even a beauty product.
Despite the fact you couldn't find it in the Sephora halls, it was so hyped up it was one of the things I wanted to pick up in New York, and after my first ever stroll through the hipster paradise that's Whole Foods, I finally became the proud owner of the most commented thing of 2014: Coconut Oil.
If you've been following me for a long time, you'd know
I would have never ever spent 8€ on that pot of sugar Lush dares to call 'Lip Scrub'. Bare in mind I'm not saying it doesn't work, just that I don't think it's worth the money.
When
sales season swung around, though, I managed to get a pot of
Bubblegum for half price and those are my thoughts about it.
Here we are at our second
Forever Repurchasing post! Aren't you proud? Ok so, all the products featuring this category are obviously my favorites, but this one, the
Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Eastend Snob is something else. Like I had a mini - ok, proper - panic attack one day when I couldn't find it. Like if I had done a 2014 favorites, this would have taken the crown. Like it's becoming my signature lip. Like everyone loves it and compliments me on it. And I'm here to tell you why it is so good.
I think smelling nice is one of the biggest pleasures in life. There is no compliment I enjoy more receiving than 'You smell so good' so I have been on the hunt for the perfect fragrance for quite a while now. After rummaging through all the Sephoras and fellows I came across, I realized I don't like traditional high street scents: they all smell a bit too... like perfume. Maybe it's the alcohol in them, I don't know, but I remember smelling Tom Ford Black Orchid and almost gagging for how bad it was.
