Thanks to my friend Elizabeth, I now have a new Regency gown – a full day dress ensemble – that fits! She asked me to be her model for a Regency fashion lecture at Modesto’s Jane Austen-themed JaneCon, and I agreed! She kindly made me the entire ensemble for the cost of materials and washing/ironing labor, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a good thing she loves to sew, because I sure don’t! I do love paying my friends, or doing them favors, in exchange for beautiful clothes! The look and fit is just perfect.
Me in mushroom hat/beret, fichu and spencer jacket. Regency makeup is weird but surprisingly effective – you use burnt cloves to fill in your brows and liquid/pomade consistency lip and cheek products.I’m on the left, Elizabeth’s on the right. She made us look good.
The outfit consists of an 1805-ish gown made from a block-printed almost-sheer cotton muslin from Renaissance Fabrics. It’s the first front-opening Regency gown I’ve had, as my other, smaller gowns were all of the slightly later frock (back buttons) variety. Since this gown has a bib front that pins in place, it’s taken a bit of getting used to. I think eventually I’ll add period-incorrect snaps and ties to help keep it in place so I won’t stab myself or flash anybody by accident. Continue reading “A new Regency gown!”
I haven’t been as bloggy as I would have liked this year. Part of that is due to the fact that I just haven’t been feeling well. I’ve been dealing with chronic eustachian tube dysfunction since December of 2015 (it’s supposed to get better, and it has, but I’m not yet back to right). That means it’s been uncomfortable to exercise, which – coupled with the general anxiety that comes from weird ear sounds and bouts of temporary hearing loss (every time I get sick) – means I’ve also gained weight. So, you can see why I haven’t really been motivated to blog a lot of outfits lately.
All that said, I haven’t been completely out of it. I can say that I’ve been using that Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade pot I’d been wanting to try, and I’ve been enjoying it so far. I’ve also been trying some new hair products that I’ll be sharing with you guys in the new year.
I’ll also have some fun tiki-themed pinup photos (by Holly West!) to show you.
So. Even though I may not seem like I’m here, I am and I’d love to chat on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Those links are in the navbar to the left! Stop by and say hi, and have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here’s hoping 2017 is better for all of us, in every way!
I promised that “Makeup on Mondays” would be an occasional feature; sometimes I’ll post every week, sometimes I’ll go awhile before I find something worth posting about. And sometimes, the feature won’t be about makeup at all, but rather some other health or beauty-related product. This beautiful Memorial Day, I’m tackling an odd subject. A subject upon which I’ve been ambivalent for some time. That’s right, I’m bringing up dry shampoo.
After a run of good luck with the Anastasia brow powder and setting gel, I started craving something different. My Anastasia powders were getting gooey and hard to use and the color was a little too warm for me, so I gave Bulletproof Brows by Too Faced a try.
I’m seriously not one of those people who has five bazillion blushes in my Mary Poppins Makeup Bag. I use a grand total of two on a regular basis, one of which is a very common staple product (NARS blush in Orgasm) and one of which most people probably use for contouring (BeneFit’s Dallas powder).
NARS blush in Orgasm
The NARS Orgasm is an obvious choice because it’s a pretty, neutral peachy-pink that looks good on everyone. It’s natural and delicate.
Dallas pressed powder by BeneFit
Dallas, like many of the BeneFit pressed powders, defies categorization. It’s too rosy to be a proper bronzer, it’s a little dark to be a crowd-favorite blush, and it’s got too much color to be your average foundation-setting pressed powder.
If makeup products were a baseball team, your face primer, foundation, and setting powder would be your battery. Okay, maybe I’m belaboring the metaphor, but the stuff you put on your skin really is the foundation (har har) for your makeup look.
There are tons of great products out there, but I’ve settled on the following team: Photo Finish Foundation Primer by Smashbox, Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation by Chanel, and Invisible Pressed Setting Powder by Laura Mercier.
Today I’m addressing liquid eyeliner, the bane of pretty much everyone’s existence and yet such a staple in every midcentury-loving gal’s makeup kit. You’ve all seen The Liquid Eyeliner Meme and lived it to some extent, yes?
The perils of liquid liner.
There are literally a ton of products to help you create a version of the look: real liquid liner that you put on with a slim brush, gel liners in a pot that you apply with an angled brush, and my personal favorite, the felt-tipped liquid liner pen. Since I like to do the flicky wing style liner from the late fifties and early sixties, I need a product that flows easily without dripping or bleeding off. I’ve also got to have a sharp applicator tip to help me create the clean wing points and a wide enough “brush” surface to make a strong line across the full width of the lid. I’ve tried a ton of liquid liner products and the only one that consistently delivers a uniform line with sharp definition is Stila’s Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Black.
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner.
Yes, you must use a good eyelid primer for it to work precisely right, but that’s true of any eye makeup product. It also takes some time to get the “hang” of liquid liner. That said, I find the “felt-tip pen” style applicators are the easiest to approach. The pen tip on the Stila liner is the right size, shape, and substance to provide the line I like with the resistance and steady product delivery my spazzy hands need. Additionally, the color goes on opaque and evenly. Once dry, it doesn’t flake or smudge off. When it’s time to remove it, my Neutrogena makeup remover sheets + a little extra makeup remover work fine.
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner.
This one’s not cheap. It’s $20 per tube, but the results are worth it. The Stila liquid liner also comes in a ton of colors, so if you’re the type who likes to try pink, blue, green, and brown eyeliners, Stila has options for you. Like the lipstick from last week, you can find it at places like Sephora and Ulta.
