Makeup Musts, pt. 1

My three absolute makeup brands are NARS, Bobbi Brown, and MAC...in that order. Once upon a time, MAC was my number one, but some of the more disappointing recent launches have demoted it to number three. I also have some specific favourites, which I'll elaborate on later, but I decided that I would give a little review of my favourite brands; what I love most, specific recommendations, and any other little tidbits I want to share. Keep in mind that my main love is neutrals and classic makeup looks, so my recommendations will be mainly centered around those.

Let's start off with Bobbi. Many people dismiss this brand as simply a boring and bland line, but I personally adore Bobbi Brown's offerings, especially those that have to do with sets or assortments.

The thing that I love most about Bobbi Brown is pretty much anything relating to palettes. Her ready-made palettes are brilliant; I especially love her Lip and Eye palette, which includes some of her beautiful metallic shadows. I would also suggest trying out her Mauve Face Palette...it isn't exactly the newest of products any more, but all the products in it are lovely; the reason why I specifically suggest trying it out is that it could be a flop if the colours don't work with your skintone, but a total success if they do. A recent release which I definitely won't be getting but that some more colour-friendly people might enjoy is the "Brights" palette. While this is no Coastal Scents extravaganza, as the pans are incredibly tiny, if I wanted to try out bright colours this is definitely how I'd do it. The shadows are all matte, which might be boring to some, but I love the idea of miniature pans (for those who don't use super-bright shadows as an everyday staple). I will say that it was definitely a strange marketing strategy to say that people should use the shadows by themselves and not mixed together, as many women find hours of joy in preparing new eyeshadow colour combos. I'm guessing that what the BB team envisioned was not necessarily a whole lot of blending and combining, but more allover colours or even pops of colour as a liner.





I also love her palette system with shadows, glosses, and blushes. Though it is more expensive than MAC's system of shadow pans, I love Bobbi Brown's option of buying palettes and individual shadows/blushes/glosses and then popping them in at your will. That way, you can buy a 4-pan palette, a bunch of individual items, and then pop whatever you'll need for the day into a palette.

My personal palette recipe?

1 empty 4-pan palette


1 blush in Apricot Pink


1 gloss in Cherry Pink


2 metallic eyeshadows, 1 in Champagne Quartz (gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous) and 1 in Burnt Sugar


Another well-renowned product from Bobbi Brown is the Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner. I absolutely love this product; the staying power is great and the colours are beautiful. I wouldn't say that this is leaps and bounds better than most typical gel liners (MAC Fluidline, etc.) but I think that the colours in this line, specifically the Shimmer Ink ones, are particularly gorgeous. My personal favourites are the Granite Shimmer Ink, either for smokey eyes or for a pretty alternative to plain black, Bronze Shimmer Ink, which brings out blue eyes beautifully and is a nice naturally metallic liner for tan skin, and Black Mauve Shimmer Ink, which is a beautiful black-but-not-quite-black liner.


This may seem like a random product, but I happen to really enjoy Bobbi Brown's tinted lip balm. I wear it in Rose Petal, which looks scarily pigmented in both the online picture and in real life. It turns out to be a nice, refreshing lip balm that has a pretty good amount of pigmentation, making it great to slip in your purse for touch-ups during the day. I like it because my lips tend to look sort of pale and ghostly as the day wears on, so this is something I can apply even without a mirror to make sure that I still look nice and alive.


Some extra notes: I would definitely say that Pot Rouge deserves a nice mention in this blog post...while it isn't a revolutionarily long-wearing creme blush, I happen to love the colour selection and the large amount of product you get in one of these pots. Calypso Coral is a beautiful peachy-pink colour that works on pretty much any skintone, and Raspberry is a lovely change from typical blush colours. The reason I didn't mention this product earlier is that I don't think that it's something totally unique to Bobbi Brown; in fact, a lot of makeup lines carry creme blushes very similar to this one. However, Calypso Coral and Raspberry do merit a mention.


I also didn't really get to one of Bobbi Brown's signature products, her Shimmer Bricks. While I myself am a highlighter junkie, like I said above with the Pot Rouges, I don't think that Shimmer Bricks are monumentally different from most highlighters. They are quite pretty, but similar highlighters can be found at many other makeup brands. Plus, you can't use them on your eyes because of the extreme fallout, which is unfortunate for people on the go that can't carry tons of products around with them.

Stay tuned for the next episode of Makeup Musts! I'll be covering MAC next.

Getting Headdress Happy

I am a closet lover of The Hills, though I think that the amount of times that "drama" about "trust" is brought up is beyond ridiculous. However, I find that if I just tune out the unnecessary parts, and watch my guilty pleasure while doing something else, I can enjoy the antics and clothes without wanting to hurl something sharp at Heidi and Spencer.

That said, I couldn't have been more excited when I heard about Whitney's spinoff, The city. Whitney's always been my favourite character, and her fun and funky fashion always provides some eye candy in every episode she's in. I've seen a couple of previews and hear the whole "trust" issue coming up again, so maybe this will turn out to be just another Hills in a different city. But who knows? I'm thinking that the fashion will be to die for...after all, the show is set in NYC.

I love that Whitney takes risks with fashion. Recently, it seems like she's been really into various headpieces. It's refreshing to see something different from the usual, even the supposedly "edgy" flower headbands. Sometimes, they can turn out a little strange, like this headpiece from the Diane von Furstenburg collection she probably has to promote as part of her job:


But other times, they can be absolutely stunning, like this Erika Peña headband she wore at her goodbye party.


It can be found at the Erika Peña website...for a whopping $420.


I love the headband, but not that much. Of course, I had to go and scope out some possible alternatives. A commonly cited one is this one, from Anthropologie for $38, but for me I'd rather that the headband only have the beading on one side, rather than all the way around.


There's also this red one from Anthropologie, for $34. I like this one a little better, but somehow the red and the felt aren't quite what I'm looking for.


I could also buy an array of Etsy buttons and baubles and glue them onto a headband...these would probably cost me about $9 or so in total, so I'm now on the search for a pretty set of buttons I can use to make my own Whitney-esque headband. Maybe I'll take a peek at some thrift stores to see if they have some other things; that way I won't have to pay for shipping.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from The Economics of Fashion! I hope you rang in the new year with a spunky, shiny miniskirt like this one from Antik Batik:


I hope you had a happy holiday season! I promise the new year will come with many more posts.

Not Just A Wizard

Remember back when Emma Watson played a frizzy-haired, nerdy, wand-wielding know it all in the Harry Potter series? Oh wait...the movies aren't done yet. But still, it's hard to deny that dear Ms. Watson will forever be associated with the young teenage wizarding series. Recently, she has made herself known in the fashion world, attending numerous shows and displaying an outstanding array of Chanel frocks during the last press go-around for whatever the last Harry Potter movie released was.

Now, she's back on the map as fashion bloggers are all abuzz with her latest sartorial choice. At LA's "The Tale of Despereaux" premiere, Emma showed up clad in a gorgeous navy dress that was shockingly avant garde and yet still seemed totally wearable on her.


I don't know much about British fashion, but after checking out my usual red carpet sources, namely Red Carpet Fashion Awards and Catwalk Queen, I am thrilled to report that Emma Watson is wearing a design by William Tempest. Which, of course, begs the question...who is William Tempest?

Again, I don't know much about British fashion, especially the youthful parts of it, but from my limited research (check out this British Vogue blurb)Mr. Tempest is a recent finalist in the "Fashion Fringe" competition, which, to my knowledge, is a competition that fashion students enter in the hopes of showing their collection in a "Fashion Fringe" runway show at London Fashion Week. His name was pegged by fashion reporters even before he was chosen to be a finalist, which is a good sign for a young, budding designer. Before heading straight to his website, I browsed the Internet for his designs and found this one as a part of an article:


and these being sold at "nina lola," a shop selling independent designers with selected vintage pieces.





Emma's dress is here (and in my opinion she wears it much better than the model)


but if she had her pick of other William Tempest dresses, here are a few I'd suggest:

the feathers on this are pretty, but I'd be worried about the rounded shape being unflattering. Plus, the shade of blue is so vibrant and beautiful.

this is a great twist on fringe, but I'd be worried about the fringe looking a little hair-like.

the colour is a little sugarplum-fairy, but the pleating is pretty and the silhouette is very flattering. I'm torn as to whether she should wear tights like the model.

this is gorgeous. the colours are mildly reminiscent of missoni, but they're fun and exciting without being too cheesy or over-the-top.

I have to say, Emma really made a good choice...I think that she picked the best piece in his entire line, from Autumn/Winter 08 to Pre-Fall/Winter 09

Etsy Finds, No. 8: Initial Necklaces

I suppose I may be late on this trend, but I can never seem to figure out when this trend is "in" or "out." Last I remember, everyone was going on about the name necklaces, a la Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City, and then there was some minor buzz surrounding Lauren Conrad's name multi-finger ring...but as you all probably know by now, I'm more into the simple, small, and classic.

Enter Etsy. After wondering to myself where one would best find a simple initial necklace, I headed over to Etsy. I'm surprised it took me that long to figure it out...after all, initials are a semi-customized thing, so it would seem logical to go to a more custom place like Etsy. It turns out they have a fabulous array of initial necklaces, depending on whether you want a really flashy custom-made pendant with crystals, or just a simple initial on a chain. I opted for the latter, but I love it so much that I might broaden my range of initial jewelry.

I purchased this little initial necklace from threebirdsdesigns...as you can tell by the picture the letter is quite small. Though the picture provides a real life comparison, I didn't realize how small the letter would be until I received it in the mail. I was worried it would be too small, but after putting it on I ended up really loving the size. It's sweet and subtle, and looks really classy. Plus, I can layer other necklaces if I want to. My next necklace would either be the second or fourth one pictured below.


You guys may not all be like me, so here are a few other initial necklace choices, brought to you by the wonderful world of Etsy.

Flat Fables

Old Navy was another store whose sale I could not resist; they were offering 20% off everything and free shipping, ironically similar to Bobbi Brown's sale. But 20% off and free shipping are both hard to come by with Old Navy, so I decided to make two purchases.

One of my great weaknesses is a cute pair of ballet flats. Even though I am a meager 5'2", flats have long been the subject of my great adoration. Flats that are fanciful and unique without being overly ostentatious will get me up at any hour of the day. Luckily, I didn't have to fight through any "doorbuster"-esque sales because of Old Navy's online offer. My purchases?

This pretty jersey skirt...it may be a little short, but it's an easy thing to slip on and a cute alternative to the frequently seen elastic top jersey skirts.


This basic pair of black flats...I posted the green version as well, because I was considering getting those, but then settled on the black because I really need a basic pair.



This pair of beauteous grey flats...these weren't a necessity, but I really fell in love with them when I saw them. I love grey in general, and these flats are no exception. I was about to get these in black as well, but the flower just didn't stand out as much that way.


After the discount, the skirt was a little under $4.00 and the shoes were each $8.00, so...

4
8
8 +
-------
20

A good deal, no?

Bobbi: Beauteous, not Boring

Being a devoted lover and general adorer of Bobbi Brown's simple and classic makeup, I was behooved to discover that her website was having a special 20% off event. This really redefined the word "rare," as Bobbi Brown essentially never holds sales. Actually, now that I think about it, Bobbi Brown, MAC, and NARS rarely (if ever) have sales...they also happen to be my three favourite makeup brands. In any case, though I was attempting to be bargainous in the midst of all the sales going on, I just couldn't help myself with the 20% discount and free shipping. So I ordered a Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Graphite Shimmer Ink. Thankfully I had the chance to swatch this on my skin earlier, so I wasn't just ordering blindly. Graphite Shimmer Ink is a beautiful shimmery grey colour that isn't black, but is dark enough to add definition even on tanner skin. You can smudge it for a smokey eye, use it as a base, or use it as a precise liner. I highly recommend it!


While ordering, I also was able to snag two free samples from Bobbi Brown. I was ordering relatively quickly, so I picked two samples from the ones available. I picked this little container of soothing face tonic


and this one-time use Extra SPF 25 Moisturizing Balm.


Upon second glance, I should have picked the Oil Control Lotion SPF 15


because it isn't labeled as one-time use and, like the Soothing Toner, comes in an adorable little glass container that can be re-used for travel or for storing small amounts of lotion/toner. The container of face tonic is just like in the picture; the bottle's height is about as tall as my pinkie.

If you're ordering something now, Bobbi Brown's thrown in a new option for a sample, which I personally adore. It's a miniature shimmer wash eyeshadow, which appears to be in a neutral champagne/copper colour called "Copper Penny." I adore all colours of this variety, so I really wish this was around when I ordered my gel liner.

Envisioning

What I would wear my beauteous cutout oxfords with...if I owned said beauteous cutout oxfords.


A pair of simple, sheer black tights to shield me from the cold.


A floaty, sweet lace dress that is so sheer it requires its own slip (nude, to be sure...white would look tacky and cream might be too sheer itself).


A coated linen blazer, putting me in the "hipster blazer-wearing folk" category without making me into some goth punk (not that I have anything against leather jackets and studs...just perhaps not with this look).


Oh, and Santa? If you happen to be listening, I'm a size extra small (for the white dress) and have size six feet.