Taking a break from my Fall Fashion Feature, I wanted to redirect you to some brilliantly-written blog entries by a couple people I know, and a couple I don't. Regardless, the message is very true.
♥ The first post I'm linking to is by a good friend of mine, who's older, wiser, and way more hilarious than I could ever hope to be. I love being around this girl. It's like being out in the sun. She makes me laugh, and I can scarce recall a situation when I was with her without a giant goofy smile on my face. She always looks for the best in every situation and every person, and, THANKFULLY, her unfailing optimism and perpetual hope for the best is contagious! I highly suggest surrounding yourself with people like her.
It is my contention that she is the way she is because she's grasped, at a very young age, what most people fail to realize in a lifetime: in order to live the fullest, best, most love-showering life you can, you need to be aware of (and comfortable with!) yourself. This awesome entry is entitled "Finding Yourself" V. "Loving Yourself." She makes the excellent point that the cliched term "finding yourself" is totally different from acceptance, respect, and love for youself. Read it! An excerpt:
"I believe that coming into your own is not a sole, personal mission that you work on consistently, but a life-time of experiences. I believe that coming into your own means allowing others to assist you, help you, and love you. Lastly, I feel that earning your identity comes from learning from your mistakes, and disallowing your stubborness and pride. It comes from taking the advice that you don't want to hear....but need to."
I told you. WISE.
♥ The second post I'm pointing you to is by the illustrious blogger, Gala Darling. If you've never read her blog, I HIGHLY suggest you do. She is an inspiration, and just overall a wonderful human being. While I don't blindly obey everything she puts forward, every once in a while she publishes something that's just so true. I felt like this entry, Radical Self-Hate? Stop the Madness! embodies an issue that's kind of a big deal right now. That being the issue of food and body image. It's so sad that we've become a culture of obese people who, oddly enough, demonize food. I know SO many girls who, every time we sit down to dinner, are like, "Oh gosh. I'm so sorry, but I have to get that 480 calorie muffin. I just have to!" First of all. I do not require an apology for you EATING, and you certainly don't need to give me one! Secondly, the muffin is not your enemy. Don't use "480" as a synonymous adjective for "EVIL AND VILE." It's not. Eat what you like. Balance it out with healthy food. The best metaphor for me, personally, is the one about your body being like a car, and it requires maitenence...the better fuel you put in, the better the performance, blah blah blah. I like it. And it makes sense to me. Put good in, get good out. And sometimes good is a cupcake. AND THAT'S OKAY.
"Until we can all learn to accept & EMBRACE our bodies as the FLAWED MIRACLES that they are, this nonsense will continue. As long as you buy tabloids which speculate about celebrity weight gain or loss, we are all suckers. As long as you participate in “body snark”, discuss the appearance of other people, or give a crap about what size pants you wear, you are totally & 100% buying into it!...Radical self-hate is bullshit, & standing by & being a silent witness to it is almost as bad."
Ignore the donut fellatio pic. I have no idea, okay?
♥ On the flipside, The Gloss posted a really great article featuring the other side of the food debate: "Accepting Different Body Types Doesn't Mean You Have to Hate Skinny Girls." This is so true. A lot of people are all like, "CURSE YOU, SKINNY BITCHES!" But if the naturally thin girls said the same thing about "you fat heiffers" or something like that, there'd be an outcry. It's like reverse racism (which IS a legit problem and pisses me off, but is a rant for another day).
My mom was one of those naturally skinny girls. At 5'11, she weighed about 110 pounds for years. She tried so hard to put on weight, eating milkshakes and double cheeseburgers about 5 times a week just trying to put on some pounds. She always tells me that she was so jealous of girls built like me--short with curves--because we looked like girls. The kids in school made fun of her all the time for being so tall and thin, things like "Scarecrow" and "Jolly Green Giant." My mom's never had awful self-esteem. She accepted herself for how she was, despite the taunts she received.
So be careful about hating on thin girls. "Thin" is a body type, too.
♥ And lastly, this one isn't quite as strongly about self-appreciation, but I feel like it's relevant nontheless. My friend, the Flying Film-maker, wrote a blog post about dancing. He discusses some of his favorite dancing tunes (awesome list, btw), and it kind of goes into a belief of mine: dancing with yourself is highly therapeutic. We tend to like the people we dance with, otherwise we wouldn't dance with them. YOU count, too! He also ends with a touch of romanticism, which optimistically restores hope into the hearts of the hopeful romantics (you know you secretly are one, don't deny!). GO READ IT NOW.
"This is why I’ll dance to “Iris.” This is why I’ll still dance, even if there is nobody else."
Learning to love, respect, accept and appreciate yourself is not the same as being self-absorbed and vain. It's a fine line, to be sure, but I think I'd rather err on the side of like than hate.
A friend of mine, who's a reverend, told me once that loving yourself is Biblical, that the Lord commands to "Love one another as you love yourself." It furthers the thought that we can't truly love other people until we recognize what a "fearful and wonderful" creation we are. If it takes one to know one, we need to realize how awesome we are before we can find the awesomeness in others.
In fashion, "camel" doesn't mean dromedary. It kind of overall refers to this tan color, and mostly fabrics like worsted wool (although real camel hair is sometimes collected when camels molt. The collected fur is then woven into fabric, but generally "camel coats" are 100% wool, and "camel" just means "tan." I know, right?). Camel most often occurs in suits (but not really anymore) and trench coats. I've long felt that a camel trench coat is one of the single best investments one can make fashion-wise. They're timeless, classic, and if you throw one on over jeans with a pair of sunglasses, you look INSTANTLY put together, even though it might be one of those days (perhaps following one of those nights) and it only took you 5 seconds to get dressed.
As you can see above, camel in general is making a massive come-back. I guess tan could go under my previous entry on colour, since it makes an appearance in a wide range of fabrics. This makes me happy, especially because it's so warm down here. You can get a nice cotton-blend pair of camel pants or a linen blazer, and you still get the look without sweating your brains out. Which is an actual occurence, guys, and it's extremely serious.
For this look, focus, obviously, on the color. I personally wouldn't go head-to-toe camel, but if monochromaticism is your thing, go for it! If you live in FL, focus on lighter fabrics with the same color. Go for dresses, skirts, tunics and pretty short-sleeved blouses in tan. If you're looking for a camel trench coat, which seriously, you guys, YOU SHOULD, check around. Look a while. Make sure it's well-made. If you're going to pay for it, it might as well be quality. Check the fit, the arm length, if it fastens nicely, fraying threads, sticky zippers, etc. You want it to be as usable as possible. Places like TJ Maxx and Ross will occasionally get in camel trench coats at great prices. They're usually upwards of $50, but worth every cent.
(Okay, so I wasn't going to tell this story, but it's the BEST bargain I ever got in my closet. When I was working at Plato's this lady came in with a wool camel trench coat from Gap. It had a coffee stain on it and besides, it was too heavy for us to take. It's Florida, REMEMBER? So anyway, we told her we couldn't take it, and she was like, "Oh, just throw it out." Plato's technically doesn't throw out or donate any clothes. We don't want to get stuck with your stuff. But for some reason we took it, and my manager was like, "Mary, you should try this on." I was like, "No way, it's an extra small. It's so not going to fit." She insisted. So I tried it. AND IT FIT LIKE IT WAS MADE FOR ME. I adore it. I still have it. I just took it in for dry-cleaning, the stain came RIGHT out, and it the best (and my favorite) coat that I own. IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU.)
On to trend two...
Capes HOW AMAZING IS THE HELMUT LANG??? I found that outfit in the Spring and have been waiting for an excuse to post it.
If you know anything about me, you know capes are like, my favorite thing. I just always have a hard time, because I want to wear them but I don't want to look like I'm three months early for Halloween (which is never a bad thing. Halloween is never unacceptable. But that's a blog for another day). So, how do you take this cape and hood look to the streets without looking costumey?
I like the hoods best. But I'm still trying to determine how you wear it out without looking like a Jedi like a creep. I think layering a hooded t-shirt underneath your fav tee would be the best bet. Hooded dresses and tunics are super cute, too, but I kind of feel like hoods should be taken off indoors. Not sure yet. I'll get back to you on that. However, the cape thing is okay. Batwing hoodies were huge last year. I tried them and personally didn't like them, but they'd be a good way to achieve both the hood-and-cape thing. I really like the gray cape/jacket on the left. I'd wear it in a heartbeat, and I feel like it's not too costumey. I also feel like those oversized scarves that we all bought a year ago would work great as a wrap (I do this all the time in my house. Might be time to wear it out!). Pair these with skinny jeans, or pants of any kind. Be carefuly pairing them with skirts--you don't want the look to be too flowy. There is such a thing as too much fabric, so if you do find a cape you like and wear it, pair it either with pants or a short, fitted skirt and tights.
MY FAVORITE.
Okay, tomorrow, we'll tackle the last and biggest Fall Fashion Trend for 2010: fashion inspired by the 1950's! HOORAY!!
My deepest apologies for not posting last night. This has been my fear with doing a multi-part series. I just have a tendency to do that. And apparently school takes time. Who knew?
In continuation of the Fall Fashion series... -fur -camel -1950's -menswear -colors -capes
Colors!
Although black usually (and still does) dominates the fall runways, there were certain, noticeable shocks of color peppered throughout. This makes me really happy. Usually the assumption is that colors stop once August is through ("no white after Labour Day" and all that rubbish). Then it's only acceptable to wear black, gray...maybe some "fall" colors like browns and really deep purples.
Well, I'm happy to announce that majorly bright colors seem to be in this fall. I always like to wear color, almost especially in the winter, just because it's unexpected. You stand out amidst a sea of gray. And I always like to stand out. ;)
It looked to me like there were a couple of colors that would stand out above the rest: military/olive green; minty, teal, turquoisey blue; and crimson and pumpkin colors.
I LOVE the blue-green colors and the pumpkiny ones. I'm not so crazy about the olive green. I feel like a very little bit of that goes a long way. To each their own, I suppose.
This color pairs nicely with denim and black. Add feminine details and steer clear of too many military-esque accessories (ie: if you do aviators, skip dog tags, etc.) to avoid looking too costumey. Even Uncle Sam won't want you then.
You can go monochromatic blue, but I feel like it's kind of overkill, especially if you do all the same shade. We don't want to cross into Smurf territory. If you do head-to-toe blue (a look I really like), break up the shades a bit (dark on bottom, light on top, etc.) I do love accessories in this color though! I'd totally wear the hat, knee-highs, belt, and even the cardigan.
I really like this color. I think it's incredibly refreshing. I'd steer clear of pinky shades of orange--look more for cinnamon/pumpkin colors to keep it from looking like coral, which is definitely more of a Spring color. Although, I guess we're breaking rules anyway, so if you want to take it and run, GO FOR IT. There are no rules here in the Sea of Snark. Except no stupid people. But if you're reading this blog, you're not stupid. :)
Up next: capes and camel! Both of which are too small to merit their own post so I'll combine them.
For all of you who started school, I hope it's going fantastically so far. And I hope you're enjoying this miniseries of mine! :)
Continuing my pet project from last night's discussion on fur, here's the next item in our list of major fall fashion trends, 2010 edition!
Menswear Click to englarge.
Menswear was HUGE on the runways this season, and not just in the "oh look, that model's wearing a vest" way. We're talking full-on borderline cross-dressing menswear. Think Annie Hall/Diane Keaton:
I personally love this look. I don't know, but I think it's sexy when ladies dress like gentlemen. I love the tailored looks, the fabrics (tweed, herringbone, pinstripes, oh my!), the shoes (flats!), the hats...I just like it. It's as close to socially acceptable cross-dressing as we're going to get.
Here's a collection of menswear-inspired items I've thrown together:
Keys to accomplishing the menswear look: -vests -pleated shorts and trousers -tailored blazers paired with button-downs -brogue shoes and oxfords -accessorizing with things like ties, suspenders, men's watches, and newsboy or bowler hats
I tried to keep the items affordable--what's lucky is that if you REALLY want to take this look and run, thrift stores host a wealth of men's clothes (could be very cute and Annie Hall-ish). I love the straight-leg trousers that are popular right now--not sure how they'd fit on me individually, but I will definitely try a pair before the season's out. They just look nice and tailored. I'm also a huge fan of blazers. I feel like if you have a clean-cut one that fits it's impossible to look frumpy.
If you're worried about looking too man-ish, take it one piece at a time. Add a vest over a ruffled button-down, or a fitted blazer over a dress. That's the idea of fashion. You don't go out and dump your entire wardrobe just to appease one trend. You borrow from all the trends that speak to you, and add just little touches of them to your own wardrobe and style. That's the beauty of it. It's there if you want it, but if trends are not your thing, you're not under ANY obligation to utilize them. After all, as Yves Saint Laurent said, "Fashions come and go, but style is forever."
Other style inspirations for this look: Katharine Hepburn (who flouted fashion rules of the 30's and 40's, wore pants and *gasp* blue jeans, and once said that "stockings are an invention of the devil"):
and Cate Blanchett, who always manages to look put together and stunning no matter what she's wearing:
Fall marks the beginning of the new year for two types of people: those in school and those in fashion. It's an especially exciting time for those of us in both realms. August and September mark the time of new resolutions, new school supplies, fresh outlooks, and new clothing trends. The "September Issue" of Vogue is sort of the yearly Bible for fashion addicts--it predicts (and dictates) what's in, what's out, and how best to accomplish these things.
I've been doing some research (in addition to getting new school supplies and packing them lovingly into my school bag) on the biggest fall fashion trends this year, and wanted to bring them to you. They are as follows:
-fur -camel -1950's -menswear -colors -capes
For the next five nights, I'll post some runway pics of each look and then the much more affordable (most pieces are under $50!) ways to accomplish said looks. Some of them are awesome; some are utterly ridiculous and stupid looking. But then, that's fashion I suppose.
Without further ado, I'd like to do my LEAST favorite trend first...get it out of the way.
FUR
Click to enlarge. Love it or hate it, fur was EVERYWHERE on the fall runways. Chanel is especially guilty. I was disappointed. I expected Chanel, the classic beacon of ladylike elegance, to leap headfirst into the more feminine, tailored, and 1950's inspired looks. If there's one thing you can ALWAYS expect from Lagerfeld, however, it's to do the unexpected. And he certainly caught me off-guard by sending what looked like an army of wookies down the runway. WTF??
Anyway. I despise the use of fur. REAL fur. I don't mind faux, but even then, a little bit goes a VERY long way. Furry boots and legwarmers? No thank you. But a little bit of fur trim looks okay. If fur is your thing, however, shopping should be a magnificent experience for you this fall.
Sherpa is super in this fall, and is especially popular since bomber jackets seem to be making a resurgence. Fur vests and full-on Lovey Howell fur coats are in.
Here are some stats for you: -Over 40 million animals are killed annually in the production of fur products. -To kill animals without damaging their fur, trappers will strangle, beat, or stomp them to death. Animals on fur farms are gassed, poisoned, electrocuted, or have their necks snapped.
Wearing fur is absolutely cruel. I have one exception to keeping fur, and that's in the case of it being a family heirloom. Regardless of ethics, real fur products are expensive and getting rid of an item that someone in your family paid a tremendous amount for can be difficult. Simply realize what went into the fur coat or muff or what have you. Faux fur is not only more affordable, it's more ethical. And nothing DIED to make it for you. The faux fur industry have really stepped up their game--some of the so-called "furs" out there are so soft you'd have to be an expert to tell the difference.
Anyway, that's my rant on fur. I'm not thrilled with this. Besides, if you live in Florida, it is NEVER cold enough to occasion fur. I tend to belive the only place for fur and sherpa is in the bedroom, lining your robes, throw blankets, or slippers.
In reference to the above fish... (For future reference, they're called LIONFISH. And yes, it's one word.)
This is the reason our friendship works. One of us has all the questions and the other has all the answers, even though she's making them all up. *_~
Will be coming home tomorrow and hopefully posting will return to normal...or as normal as it ever is here in the Sea of Snark. Pics to come of the Fort Myers expedition! Hope you're all having a lovely week so far!
AKA: Grand Moff Tarkin who was apparently a real sweetheart in real life and just played excellent villains. Anyone who's BFF with Christopher Lee would play an excellent villain. =)
I want to tell you about something I like, as opposed to ranting and raving about things that BOTHER ME, which I feel like I do too much.
Think of it like show and tell from when we were little. =)
Today, I'm talking about LUSH Cosmetics! Now most people are put off by the word "cosmetics," imagining labrynthine aisles at Walgreens with messy powders and goopy glosses. Well, LUSH isn't that way at all. They make soap.
And they're doing a damn fine job of it, too.
A little about the company first: LUSH is self-described as a "hippie-driven rollercoaster," and I feel that's about 100% accurate. All of LUSH's products are vegetarian and over 70% are vegan. They don't use any animal products, by-products, or buy from any suppliers that test on animals (the animal lover inside me rejoices). They also employ what they call "naked" packaging, meaning they use as little external packaging as possible (to save the cost and resources of packaging their products in paper, glass, plastic, etc.). Seventy per cent of their products can be bought without packaging at all (hence the naked bit). And the packaging they do use is made of post-consumer recycled materials and is all biodegradable. Via their website, statistically speaking, LUSH using recycled/recyclable packaging saves 800 barrels of oil each year. That's A LOT.
TLDR: they're eco-conscious and a REAL "green company."
They use all natural ingredients, like strawberries, bananas, lemons, coconuts, spearmint, seaweed, almonds, etc. This thrills me and cracks me up, because when I was little, my best friend Aubri and I would concoct "beauty products" (foot scrubs, facial masks, hair conditioner lol) in her kitchen made of strawberries, potatoes, eggs, sugar and the like. We always joked that if we couldn't eat it, we didn't like it. And apparently LUSH agrees with the eight year old us's. Every product is made fresh, by hand in the stores, using fresh natural ingredients. They make a mass batch and then slice it up by pounds, like at a butcher's. And every product has a use-by date, since real ingredients REALLY DO go bad. That may seem off-putting at first, but think of it this way: how weird is it that Dial soap literally lasts ten years?? What's IN IT that makes it last forever?
You could probably eat any of their products and while it would taste nasty, you would likely not need to call Poison Control.
I DIGRESS.
I've been aware of their company for a few years now but had only used one or two of their soaps. I sort of rediscovered them a few months ago and have branched out to more soaps and their lotions and dusting powders. I have to say, I am madly impressed with everything I've ever gotten there. I like to think of myself as something of a semi-soap connoissuer. I've been buying and using soap bars for AGES, starting with pirating my mother's cupboard beneath the bathroom sink and stealing her Caswell-Massey bars. I pick up organic soaps every time I visit my family in North Carolina, because there's such an abundance of "green" stores. Certain areas are much more eco-aware than others. Brevard, North Carolina is far more conscious of that sort of thing than Orlando is. I've tested, used, and made a number of soaps myself, and some of my all-time favorites (especially in the organic category) come from LUSH.
I know "organic" tends to have a connotation attached to it, too, of having weird smells and textures. This is regrettably true. I once had a goat's milk lavendar bar that smelled good in the box but melted to the texture of cottage cheese once it hit the water (and smelled about like that, too). NASTY. And I am extremely picky about my shower products, because feeling clean is about #3 on my list of Life Priorities behind sleep and eating.
LUSH might be vegan and organic, but you'd never know.
I want to review a few of the specific products that I've used and REALLY liked from them.
SEXY-PEEL SOAP
First of all, the name is awesome. Sexy Peel is my favorite LUSH soap, possibly because it was the first one I ever got from them, but it's just soo...YUMMY! It smells like everything citrusy in the world, but not acrid or oversweet. It just smells delicious. I want to EAT it. I always have them slice it fresh in the store for me, because nothing in the WORLD smells like fresh-cut Sexy Peel. There are little pieces of orange peel in the soap, which sounded yucky to me at first, but they act as a really gentle scrubber on your skin. Not gross or garbage-y at all! It lathers so nicely, rinses off SO nice and clean, and makes your entire bathroom smell like a sunshiney orange grove. I'd recommend this to EVERYONE. It's entirely appropriate for gents, too.
ICE BLUE
Ice Blue soap is described by LUSH as "the zippy iceberg soap." I think that's about right. It's made almost entirely of peppermint, so it's SUPER minty and extremely fresh. It's almost a must-have, especially in the sticky, hot Florida summer. It's cooling to the touch with sea salt in it (to make it look like an iceberg and as a natural scrub). I ordered a very tiny piece of it, and unfortunately, when it arrived, it had melted in transit. I wasn't upset at all--LUSH is very clear about informing its consumers that the lack of unnatural preservatives means the soap will LIKELY melt in transit. I don't know if it's because it melted or if I just got a weird batch, but it doesn't lather as well as I'd hoped. I'd rather use another soap in the shower, but I've put Ice Blue in a soap dish and it makes a really nice hand soap.
Rock Star If you're a closeted pink-lover who wants to run around in a poufy white Marie Antoinette wig, sprinkle your sheets with confetti or glitter, and secretly start to drool at the mere mention of the word "cupcake,"Rock Star was created with YOU in mind. It's one of LUSH's all-time best selling soaps. It's a pink, sudsy and saccharine block of coconut-vanilla goodness. It lathers up nicely, rinses off cleanly and leaves your skin smelling like you've been kissed by the Candy Fairy. I've been using Michael's shower in lieu of the flood, and when I got out of the shower he was like, "What did you do to my bathroom?" I panicked, thinking he'd be livid that I made it smell girly or something. I told him I used a new soap and he's like, "It's not bad. It smells like the lollipops at the Semoran Skateway." HAHAH! =D Personally, I like the way it smells on my skin better than the way it smells in the shower. In the shower, it's almost too sweet for me. But it rinses off really nicely and leaves me smelling sweet but not like I fell in a vat of cotton candy. I'm picky. I like sweet smells, but I don't want to smell sticky, like a mosquito-magnet. I'm glad I tried Rock Star, but it's probably not something I'd buy again unless I was in a really sweet mood/phase. It's likely perfect for someone else though!
I've also purchased 17 Cherry Tree Lane ("soap-acalifragilisticexpialidocious!")and Demon in the Dark. I've been finishing off the Ice Blue and Rock Star and then I'll use those. Can't wait to see how they do and I'll let you know my thoughts!
Dusting Powders ...not just for old ladies and George Washington anymore. ;) I've long been a fan of dusting powders. My mom has used them my whole life (Caswell-Massey, applied generously with a luxurious white pouf...memories of a little girl!). I think they're fantastic, especially since we live in such a hot climate where sweating is so prevalent. LUSH's powders are silky-smooth, and don't feel rough or talc-y at all. I've used other organic powders that felt huge--like dusting cornstarch on myself. BLAH! But LUSH's are soft and comfortable, absorbent and leave JUST the right amount of fragrance on your skin.
I've tried all of the above. Candy Fluff powder was recently discontinued (NOOOO!!!!), so I had to snap some up before it leaves (there are a few still in stock at the Florida mall if you're desperate. Hurry before they're gone!). Honestly, of all three of the above, it's my least favorite. It has tiny irridescent sparkles in it, which makes me TOTALLY happy. It's not quite as sweet as Rock Star...the smell reminds me of something Marie Antoinette would have created, bottled and worn around Versailles. Definitely a super girly powder.
Silky Underwear, despite its naughty name, is probably the best all-purpose powder out there. It leaves my skin dry and babysoft. It smells like jasmine (one of my BEST smells) and vetivert, so it's fragrant and a little bit herbal/spicy, making it perfect for ladies AND gents. It has miniscule amounts of cocoa butter in it, leaving your skin totally soft. I'd definitely rec this!
My personal fav so far has been the Vanilla Puff Powder. It also has hints of jasmine and smells like a more grown-up dessert vanilla, not the saccharine-sweet of Candy Fluff and Rock Star. It's slightly more sophisticated and leaves skin as clean and awesome feeling as the other powders. Right now, I am OBSESSED with layering this over Strawberry Feels Forever, because together it smells like a light whippy strawberry and cream dessert!!! I'm loving it.
One of the things LUSH is kind of the original inventor of are solid lotion bars. They like to solidify a lot of their products to help reduce packaging waste. They also have solid shampoo, but I haven't quite warmed up to that idea. Anyway, something I DO like is their solid lotion or massage bars. I've tried two and love them both...I'd order each again and would love to try more!
Schnuggle With a name like "Schnuggle," it HAS to be good. *that was bad, and I know it* Schnuggle is one of those products that blows my mind. I'm like, "Who came up with this? HOW DO THEY DO IT?" The deal with the solid massage bars is that they're activated by your own body heat. You rub them between your hands and they warm up, leaving their soft, buttery goodness on your hands. Schnuggle is absolutely 100% NOT GREASY. And it feels POWDERY on your skin! I'm not sure how it works...it goes on as lotion, stays a lotion, but FEELS like a powder. It was specifically designed as a before-bed lotion, with the goal in mind to not greasy up your sheets. GENIUS. As such, it also has calming herbs in it like lavendar and chamomile. It's ugly on the outside, but certainly does it's job, so don't judge the bar by appearances, for beauty is found within! It's amazing and I WILL re-order it when mine runs out.
Strawberry Feels Forever Those of you who know how fanatical I am about the Beatles will know exactly why I ordered this. First of all, thanks for the shout-out to one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs. Secondly, Strawberry Feels Forever smells like a sweet, delectable dream. It's not at all sugary-sweet like Rock Star or Candy Fluff. It smells light and fruity, and leaves your skin AMAZINGLY hydrated with ZERO greasiness. My frequent readers and close friends will know that my skin is of the oily variety and I'm a bit phobic of hydration for fear of breakouts. This is a wonderful moisturizer, leaving my skin soft and smooth, moisturized, and in no way overly greasy or oily. As aforementioned, I smooth it over my arms and neck and put the vanilla dusting powder over it. It feels SO silky, and smells like I bathe in strawberries and cream (but not in a cloying, annoying way. Just a hint!). I wore it out yesterday and within FIVE MINUTES had TWO people stop me and ask what I was wearing--NO JOKE! I suggest you try it. Try them both together! It's simply divine.
Foot and Body Creams I've only JUST tried LUSH's body creams, and I've used sample sizes of the above, Fair Trade Foot Lotion and Karma Kream Body Lotion. Fair Trade is a super duper foot lotion. I am PHOBIC of grease, and Fair Trade is sooo not. Foot lotion is usually is. This is not. And it's also healing! I had some heinous blisters from working in the boot, and I put this lotion on. Literally, overnight, they were 10x better than they were with the application of Neosporin. LOVE. It's pink and minty. It smells delicious, and the mint is refreshing, cooling and leaves my tired achey feet feeling revitalized.
Karma is LUSH's signature scent. It smells like Woodstock, VW buses, the summer of love, rock and roll, and peace. Clean beautiful hippies would smell like Karma. It's got patchouli, lemongrass, orange, and a plethora of other amazing smells. Combined, it smells like love and sunshine. The lotion is non-greasy and perfect for moisturizing hands and just about everything else. Karma is perfect for both sexes, too! I rec it to everybody!
I also tried Pied de Pepper foot cream, and didn't care for the smell. Which is odd because I adore cinnamon. It just smelled too spicy for me. But I think it's a very dude-appropriate smell, for those of you wondering. :)
WHEW! If you read all of that, you deserve an award. I hope you enjoyed and I hope that you'll all try some LUSH for yourselves! The only stores in Orlando are, unfortunately, at OIA and the Florida Mall. But I think it's worth it. The people who work there are SO super nice and amazingly willing to help. You can definitely tell when people love their jobs, and the good folks at LUSH have every reason to. If, like me, the airport and FL mall terrify you, I can attest to the excellent service at lushusa.com. Shipping is prompt and they slice their soaps into perfect sizes. Again, be ye warned of meltage--it WILL happen. But I pop mine in the freezer for an hour or two and they're right as rain. Give it a shot!
Have any of you used LUSH before? If so, what's YOUR favorite?
Well, my "Plato’s: Part II" experience is done. I had my last day on Friday...that kind of thing is always bittersweet. I enjoy working—I like being busy and having someplace to be and being FORCED to have human interaction (interacting with people is like eating vegetables; I never want to do it, but sometimes I make myself because I know it’s good for me). I met some really awesome people, too. But it will be good for my foot to have some time now to heal (hopefully) before school starts, and to enjoy the last couple weeks of summer.
Now that I’m not employed there anymore, I feel I can air the grievances I’ve been so careful to keep quiet about the last few weeks. Nothing is really deplorable. Just little complaints I didn’t want to make public while still employed.
-Guys, I am so serious about this: PLEASE respect the dressing room policies of whatever stores you may frequent. If there’s a return rack, please RE-HANG your items and put them there. Do not leave them in the dressing room. Do not leave them in a heap outside the dressing room. Do not hand me the clothes and the hangers separately and then inform me that it’s my job to rehang them, not yours. You’re right. You’re not getting paid to try on clothes and I am getting paid to put them back. But have a little common decency. I am a sales associate, not your slave or your mother. I’m not even asking you to rebutton or tie any ties or anything. Just PUT THEM ON THE HANGERS and HANG THEM ON THE BLATANTLY OBVIOUS RETURN RACK.
-Also. Just because I’m working retail does not make me lower than you. I am no less of a human being because I make minimum wage. And let me tell you. Even if you don’t, if you have chongalicious hair and cheap K-Mart jeans, you LOOK poorer than me anyway. So don’t sniff and roll your eyes at me haughtily when I politely ask how you’re doing today. It’s rude and you look like an arrogant prig.
-Also, EXCUSE YOU for reprimanding me for using the wrong verb form in Spanish. You are in MY country. At least I made an attempt to speak YOUR language, which is more than I can say for you.
-Don’t ask me to get things off the wall with the ladder if I’m wearing a skirt, you filthy perverts. I KNOW that’s the only reason you’re asking.
-My name is Mary. Not “the brown-haired girl,” or “the girl with the broken foot” or even “girl.” I am not a dog; I will not respond to “Here, girl.”
-Don’t be afraid to ask for things off the wall or the displays—that’s why we put them there, and nothing makes me happier than to know that other people like what I’ve selected. That being said, don’t ask me to get down a pair of jeans for your 7 year old daughter than you KNOW aren’t going to fit just to humor her. That’s just annoying.
-Don’t come into a store full of used clothing and tell min wage workers about how you just sold your house to UCF’s new medical school for $2 million and are building your dream Victorian home on a lake. And if you must, don’t yell and look around for approval from migrant workers and single mothers. You won’t get any. It makes you look self-absorbed, pretentious, and insensitive.
I think that’s all. Whew!
Anyway, I’m glad that’s over.
Let’s see, what else? The boot (still need pics, omg, I promise I’ll get some up soon!) is on from now until about November. I’ve been swimming a lot because the lack of physical exercise was making me insane. Swimming is never my all-time favorite, but boy, it’s better than nothing.
The flood disaster is…disastrous. The fans are out THANK GOD. I hate having to shout in my own house. But the damage remains, and it’s extensive. All the flooring is going to be replaced. All the toilets are being replaced (precautionary), as are the cabinets and base boards. We’re HOPING there’s no drywall damage or they’ll be in knocking down our walls and rebuilding those, as well. The whole thing is costing a fortune and of course, insurance is no help. So we’re kind of in limbo right now, trying to make decisions about what to do and who to go through to do it. But at least it’s dry and quiet now, if a bit uglier and with no wood flooring (they’ve already ripped it up due to the threat of mold and mildew).
In more EXCITING news, I’m going to Fort Myers this Friday for a long weekend with Bethany! I’m quite excited to see her place, and we’re detouring to Sanibel, which is always excellent. I’m quite looking forward to it.
Omg, Bixby just ATE my power chord. WHAT WILL I DO IF MY COMPUTER DIES?? Oh my gosh. Okay, well, now my mission has become to locate an Acer Aspire power chord tomorrow IF IT KILLS ME. Speaking of him, he’s fine. I’m planning a post about him soon. Assuming my computer isn’t sitting dead somewhere….
Last night, around 9PM, our house absolutely FLOODED.
I mean, it was INCHES deep. About up to my ankles. Here's the odd part: it was the downstairs toilet that flooded, but no one had used it ALL DAY. We have no idea why. Apparently, it was just running and overflowed. Massively.
Dad, Mom, Michael and I swept like maniacs (Michael kept singing "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor?" much to my dad's chagrin, lol) trying to get the water out, but we only have ONE broom. And we saturated every towel in the house.
The water flooded my bathroom, the kitchen, my ex-bedroom/guest room, the laundry room and half of the living and dining rooms. Basically, the whole downstairs except for my parents' room.
My pretty Halloween bathroom =(
The dining room: Bixby's like "Wtf??"
The laundry room:
Our living room (aka: the stuff receptacle):
And our kitchen:
My mom is heartbroken. None of our kitchen appliances work except the fridge and the microwave. The insurance guys were here until almost 2:30AM last night, and they put all those massive fans in (I think we have about 20 going constantly) to try and get the moisture out. But he said it's pretty much too late. He said we have tens of thousands of dollars worth of water damage and if we're LUCKY the house will be back to normal in 3-6 months. Which means from now until like, Christmas, the house is going to be kind of a disaster.
More insurance and demolition people are coming out today to give more estimates and tear out more water damaged areas. They've already torn up the kitchen and some of the wood floors (all of them will have to be replaced eventually). All of the cabinets and faucets will have to be replaced in the kitchen, laundry room and my bathroom.
And the fans are SO LOUD. I tried to make a sound file for you but it just sounded like white noise on a bad TV station. Know this: that noise is a thousand times less annoying than the fans. And they have to run CONSTANTLY from now until Thursday. I feel bad for my parents because the fans go right up to their bedroom. At least Michael and I can go upstairs and shut our doors.
Also, it's good I moved up here last summer, because otherwise my entire bedroom would be destroyed. That room received the most damage. I couldn't even get in to take a pic, that's how bad it was.
The dogs are horrified (Chichi especially, lol) and terribly confused.
It's pretty sucky.
Anyway, that's what's new with me! I will keep taking pics and keep you guys posted on what's going on.
