Tag Archive for makeup

even my makeup is queer

i am currently on a mission to try and not look like a sea hag every day. it’s not really that hard, i guess. the hardest part used to be doing my hair, but when i became a woman (three years ago), the ability to style my hair properly finally took hold and now, for the most part, my hair always looks presentable-to-nice-to-luscious.

one thing i have had trouble with over the last several years is being too damn lazy to do my makeup. i know this is shocking to those of you who know i own a mountain of cosmetics, the monetary value of which could probably send two or three orphans to college, but it’s true.

i must first note that i totally respect the decision some girls make not to wear makeup at all. most of my most beautiful friends don’t even know how to hold a mascara wand. but the fact remains, however shallow, that makeup makes ugly people look way less ugly, sometimes even pretty. i discovered when i was around 21 that when i go out, even grocery shopping or to the mall, that people are WAY nicer to me when i’m wearing a full face than when i am makeup free (aka foundation only… ha! like i’d EVER leave the house without foundation). the radical, status quo hating feminist in me understands fully that this is wrong and everyone should be treated equally despite how they look, because we all have something special shining inside, but my fug-hating eyes know exactly how they feel.

the point of this all is that recently my quest for simple beauty was made much easier. i have been using and enjoying MAC studio fix liquid in NC25 with MAC mineralize skinfinish in medium over it. i love the way this looks. the studio fix liquid is a dream foundation, with great coverage, blendability, the famously wonderful MAC color selection, and none of the pore-clogging effects i have found with studio fix powder (which it broke my heart when i had to stop using it. best powder foundation EVER other than that.) right before dinah, though, i decided i needed a makeup that would be a little more hassle-free, sun, and sweat-friendly, so i repurchased bare minerals at sephora. every time i stop using this stuff then buy it again, i am reminded of why i love it so much. the coverage is brilliant, it looks like real skin (some people call that “shiny” but i always get compliments on my “glow”), and it stays on really well, even through a night of dancing. i apply it with the MAC 182 buffer brush, which is a short-handled, ultra-fluffy kabuki brush. I LOVE THIS BRUSH! it’s so soft and luxurious, and at $45 it’s cheaper than many luxe brushes on the market. it applies the minerals perfectly, with plenty of coverage but not too cakey.

AmandalHeatherette_for_mac_2what i’m REALLY excited about from MAC, though, is the recent launch of their Heatherette for MAC line. for those not in the know, Heatherette is a design duo out of NYC. richie rich and traver rains create outrageous, fun, over-the-top designs that are inspired by glitter, club kids, and self-described freaks. the fabulous amanda lepore is one of their muses. one of their runway shows featured lepore and recently-retired porn superstar jenna jameson as models. i was looking forward to the MAC launch because i knew that the colors would be very girlie and hopefully involve a lot of pink. then, when the Fafi for MAC line came out and the colors were so blah, disappointing, and overly-glittery, i became worried. luckily, i had no need to fear! the Heatherette line is absolutely GORGEOUS! i seriously would have bough every single lipstick, lipgloss, and powder if i could. in the end, i bought the beauty powder in “alpha girl”, a warm, sheer pink with a slight sheen. it’s very pale, but as colors tend to oxidize and darken on me, it shows up nicely as a natural flush. the compact is so so pretty too (bright bubblegum pink with a Heatherette logo disco ball). i also got the lipstick in “melrose mood”, an opaque pepto-pink, and “lollipop loving”, which is a beautiful medium peach with a green/gold shimmer. “lollipop loving” is the more wearable of the two, but i really love oddly opaque light-colored lipsticks like “melrose mood”, especially with a summer tan.

the collection is mostly sold out on MAC’s website, but i had no trouble finding it in stores a few weeks ago. i would definitely recommend the beauty powder and “lollipop loving” lipstick. all i have to do is dash these on, along with some black eyeliner on my lower lids and a coat of mascara, and i look summer-ready. if i’m feeling sassy, i have been wearing a bit of eyeshadow again as well, which is a nice touch. if all goes well with my new non-haggard look, i will be earning less and less disdain everywhere i go!

p.s. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD go here to watch the Heatherette for MAC video. there is no way to embed it here, but it is the gayest thing ever and makes me feel all warm inside. why was i born with a vagina? i was meant to run free with the fags!

p.s.s. this man, andre j, international model and covergirl, is my new favorite person. i’m SO OVER lesbians with mustaches. queens with full beards = so all about.


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the sweet smell of moderate success at things no one cares about but me

first things first, i am pretty sure you guys all understand this, but i want to remind you just in case you forgot: i write these generally between 2-6 a.m. because i am a crazed night owl, so when i say “today” it means yesterday to you, and “yesterday” means the day before, etc etc.

so, regarding “today,” i had one of those not leaving the house all day life sucks bummer bummer days again, but that’s mostly because i cannot seem to shake these cold-like symptoms and also i went to long beach last night to hang out with the lbc crew and i drank a little too much because… well… i was in long beach.

i’m having serious self-esteem issues right now on account of the feeling that i’m wearing a fat suit on the day to day, so it was probably not the best idea to then, as my only outing of the day today, go try on a bunch of hideous clothes, but my mom came home and insisted that i go to kohl’s with her, so i did. YES I SAID KOHL’S. my mom loves the new kohl’s they put in in our neighborhood something awful. man, does she love it! it was actually a kind of nice outing in which we bonded over choosing colorful new bathroom rugs and a shower curtain, but then she asked me to look for something to wear to the women’s luncheon we are going to this weekend. trying on clothes at kohl’s of all places is not what you wanna do when you are depressed and fat. it’s a wonder i didn’t kill myself then and there with the pointy end of a clothes hanger, but somehow i made it out with a very simple but cute black blouse for saturday. when i get fat i instantly go goth, it’s actually very sexy. hahahaha.

Missdiorspeaking of sexy, my friend baby d always smells really good and she refuses to tell anyone what it is she wears. i tried to explain that it’s not really my jam anyway and i just wanted to know out of curiosity, but her lips are sealed. i think this plan is actually quite genius, very sexy and mysterious-like. i would steal it, in fact, but i already told the world that my signature scent is christian dior miss dior cherie. this truth was threatened recently, however, when my mom found this extra bottle of it she bought last christmas when she bought one for me. one morning i woke up with a start, sniffing like a hound because i smelled it in the air as she was leaving for work. the following evening i politely (shrilly) explained to her that as my mother she is not allowed to jack my signature scent! first of all, the strawberry, raspberry sorbet, and caramel corn notes in the scent are far too unsophisticated for a woman of her age and stature, and secondly i have a very very strong sense of scent-memory, and i cannot feel like i smell like my mother when she’s headed to work in the morning as i do the things i do on a daily basis, which generally involve booze and sex. just kidding! mostly. i don’t drink every day. usually.

Yellowmati do, however, usually wear miss dior cherie every day because it is heavy and womanly enough for night, but also young and fruity enough for warm weather, day, and a girl my age. good stuff. some days i switch it up though, because even though i decided when i turned 25 i needed a signature scent, i am still a perfume whore. for xmas i got a bottle of yellow mat by masaki matsushima, which i have been dying to have for AGES. it basically looks and smells like sunshine in a bottle, with notes of citrus, watermelon, and then watery woods. the only problem i have with it is that it doesn’t seem to me that it lasts at all, but when i wear it i always get compliments, so i guess maybe it just wears off for the wearer. oh, also, it is this close to smelling like d&g light blue and moschino i love love, both of which i love in the bottle and on others, but smell like ass on me. yellow mat smells good on me, but it has similar dry down notes so i always get nervous for a second.

then there is the matter of the new scent joe got me for vday, escada moon sparkle. i feel like that one is good for layering because it adds that fruitiness that i like. people always wrinkle their nose at fruity of foody perfumes, but i found i get so many compliments when i wear them! weird. joe does really hate my comptoir sud pacifique vanille abricot though. he makes a hideous face every time i get in the car wearing it, opens the window, and says “babe, you smell like ice cream!” EWWW ICE CREAM?!?!?! whatever, joe, what do you know? i had to explain to himVersace_new_fragrance38397 that that fragrance is very popular, somewhat expensive, and from france! he did not care. the good news is i think i have discovered my new backup signature scent, should my mom, my grandma, or, say, joe himself ever decide that they too must smell like fruity lady popcorn. the new one from versace is super feminine and very floral, as you can imagine by the maker and the bottle, but it is also has a freshness to it and a slight sparkle that makes me want to check it out. i know it’s the last thing i need, but what do i need really? besides money, stability, and the sweet relief that my injured mind craves day-in and day-out?

oh crap.

Telescopiccleandefinitionwhatever, i also need a decent fucking mascara. i still have not found my holy grail of mascaras, but i have been buying and enjoying telescopic by l’oreal since i made this post, which is a big deal for me because normally i have no mascara attention span what-so-ever. recently i decided to stray, though not too far, to try l’oreal telescopic clean definition mascara. HUGE mistake. let me give you a tip that i have finally learned for myself: in the mascara world, “clean” means “invisible,” at least on me. i have decent eyelashes, but my eyes are really tiny, so i like lots of drama to make them stand out. i’m not talking drag queen-style (well, sometimes i do break out the falsies), but i want big, full lashes. no go with this, folks. it has the same shape of brush as original telescopic, meaning it’s one of those comb-style brushes that should apply a lot of product for volume, but still define the lashes well once you learn not to be too heavy-handed. what they have done with this version is made the brush out of that squishy rubber all the companies are using now to tout their wands as “clump-free.” the problem with “clump-free” is it usually also means there won’t be too much volume, so i would only recommend this if you already have lots of lash110507_covergirl_b or if you are looking for the natural look. even then, though, this stuff if a little too gooey and wet upon application and smears and flakes a bit. no go. oh ps i also tried that new cover girl mascara “lash blast” that drew barrymore is whoring and there is NO BLAST. same problem with the rubber bush, no volume. nothing. invisible. i guess there are bigger problems in the world, but it would be nice to settle this mascara thing once and for all. i think i will try one of the newer MAC formulas next, since i can buy them for cheap with my pro card.

well, this weekend is going to be another mellow one in preparation for good times ahead. the next three weekends are going to be kinda crazy so i better rest my pipes. my throat feels like it’s bleeding. no bueno.

ma vie en blows

today has been a weird day.

we are moving out of our house and i just keep thinking how we squandered this year, in this lovely little house that had so much promise. then i’m like, oh, wait, we had tons of fun here. too bad a bunch of terrible things happened as well and that’s how it will be remembered. Img_1438 this picture is the view of my room before we moved in. i was pretty excited about this room and that balcony. yeah, that was way before i cried myself to sleep a hundred and fifty times in there, but that is the past. there will be many more cute houses to cry in in my future. i can hardly wait!

and this here is my room with my perfume shelf and movie poster.Img_1710 yes, i am kind of like a twelve-year-old girl except with huge breasts and an almost incapacitating amount of cynicism. but anyway “ma vie en rose” is very special to me because it’s about a little boy who wants to be beautiful and feminine and almost no one will let him be himself. that’s how I feel sometimes too, and i was born female-bodied.

here is my framed photo of Img_1705 kylie minogue riding a bicycle in a pink tutu and a bunch of my lipsticks. haha. i’m fun.

so we are leaving echo park. wow. how insane. how crazy. goodbye coffee shops and art shows i never went to because i hated you, goodbye bars i always went to even though i hated you. seriously though, i will miss my roommates and driving by the beautiful lake every day and even those damn pigeons scratching at the tin balcony awning as they landed in the morning. i will even miss crazy volvo lady, who is crazy, drives a volvo, and ran into our house at my birthday party last year and turned down the music.

yeah, i say this as if i am not going to be in this neighborhood all the fucking time. goddamn it.

today was also my last day working at the salon. it was pretty unceremonious, mostly because i am friends with everyone who works there and will probably see most of them at least once a month and some pretty much every day (whether you like it or not, lacey). but it means more than not working there for me. it is like a sendoff of the last three years of my life… the year in beauty school, taking state boards, two years assisting and then deciding not to do hair. i don’t think it was a mistake per se, because i learned a lot about myself and believe it or not, beauty school was one of the hardest things i ever tried and completed (fyi, in case you didn’t know the only thing i do better than failing is not trying).

it’s cheesy, but it really is the beginning of a whole new chapter for me now. i hold my entire future, living, breathing, huge, and illuminated, in my own hands. my tiny, useless hands.

learnings, leanings, lashes

the most important thing i have learned since i started taking that class at UCLA is that there definitely are fundamental differences between people that went to college and people that did not. in most cases the college people have quite the edge… i mean, some of those people are really well-read and educated, it’s great.

but one important difference is this: college people for some reason seem to think it is okay to wear your running shoes to do anything other than run. UM, NO LADIES. obviously one would not have to wear heels or anything like that, but there are TONS of sneaker options and cute flats! trainers in public are never allowed except for 30 minutes before exercising or Tn435_0193m 30 minutes after, but never both, and never with jeans! i hate to sound like someone who subscribes exclusively to fashion rules, because i really am not. unless i am the one who makes them or breaks them (see: the adidas runners with the blue dress in china town circa 2005. that was a good one) because unless you are making a bold statement, there is no excuse for some things. asics and boot cut jeans? by god america, is this what our institutions of higher learning are teaching our children? shame.

anyhoo, conan is in re-runs, which is a bummer, but it led me to an awesome discovery: kate beckinsale rules.Getimgphp i always figured she was your average generic, mermaid-haired, horse-faced (not an insult, i like horsey girls) actress who was in bad movies. turns out she is really funny, one might even say a delight, in interviews. she was telling conan about seeing her huge head on film and it wasn’t like with some actresses where they are like “i am so gross, i love cheeseburgers!” it was genuine, self-deprecating humor. she also said a bunch of funny stuff i forgot. point is, i learn a lot from watching conan. how sad, maybe that’s why i am so much dumber than my classmates.

speaking of celebrities, i saw a giant billboard for262391 the Oh! network on my way to UCLA today and i had a horrible realization… i have a strange, secret spot in my heart for lisa rinna. all logic and eyesight tells me i should think she is a terrifying, plastic beast, but for some reason i like her. she seems like a lady who knows how to balance fun and family, and i like that. of course, i also really like the taste of kambucha and being deprived of oxygen during the act of love, so i guess my taste is sometimes questionable. eh, whatevs.

p.s. we all know i hate low-end makeup, but i was tricked into trying the new mascara called Telescopic by L’Oreal because a) duh, L’Oreal and Lancome are the same company, b) hello, the packaging is a lil’ telescope! AWWW!Lorealmascaral, and c) in the commercial it makes penelope cruz have have lashes that look like beautiful black threads of steel, reaching out to strangle you to death. yes, this is digital, but she is supposedly a lez. hot! anyway, it was on sale at target and i bought it. it works pretty great, though not as good as the Lancome version i also use (called Fatale). it is way easier to apply though and i got tons of compliments. and a wicked eye itch but that might be alergies.

anyways bye.