Opinion piece

Ok. I'm not really one to get all opinionated, but I'm wondering what some of you think about this:

Beirut's beauty parlor for young girls (BBCNews)

There seems to be a bit of "outrage" and screams of "too-far!" on the internet over this today, but when I watched the video, I don't find it quite so bad. To me, it seems like a glorified dress-up place for little girls...not a legitimate "salon". The employee being interviewed frequently mentions "princess" or "rock star" which CLEARLY are not real-life situations. I don't have children, or a daughter, but who among us didn't play pretend and dress up when we were little? I remember putting on my grandmother's bright red lipstick at a very young age, so I'm not sure how this is much different except that you pay for the service (maximum of $13, I mean come on...a tube of lipstick is $7).

I don't associate this with the child beauty pageants, which I totally disagree with. Those mothers, and their daughters, are something else. This setting also doesn't seem to be in the "growing up too fast" arena either. That I don't have to watch BBC to see...I just go to the mall.

Here's where my opinion comes in, and again, I don't have a daughter. I don't know what I would do if it was my daughter, but I know what my mother did for ME. I turned out pretty well, I'd like to think. So let's talk about the mall. Have any of you passed by the "homecoming dress" section in the department stores lately? Some are "cute" but most of them look like this:

Macy's

Um, yeah see my mother wouldn't have let me leave the house. If little miss model there tries to sit her booty will show, I'm sure of it. I'm pretty sure every homecoming (which was SUPER casual, but regardless) I wore a longer skirt and a cardigan twinset. This is not just what seniors are supposed to buy, the 9th graders--14 year old girls--are supposed to be in this. Some of the dresses are over $200 as well. I don't get it, where are their MOTHERS? I mean, I know it must be somewhat difficult--what do you do? Make your daughter the outcast by not letting her dress sexy like everyone else? I like to think that my mom would have tried to find a happy medium (though I'm not sure where we could have found it, all of the dresses look like this...) cute but not sexy. Or she would have told me to suck it up and let me be an outcast!

Mall point #2. Go in Victoria's Secret. A large percentage of the clientele looks to be younger than 16. Buying thongs and sexy bras and whatnot...with again no adult in site. First, my mom would have LAUGHED AT ME for wanting to purchase a $40 bra and $9 underwear at age 13. Yes, VS makes some high quality bras that don't tear up, but it's the sexy factor I'm curious about...do these 13 year old little dudes macking on these 13 year old little girls even know that they are seeing a VS bra? I doubt it. Here's a secret, young teenage girl out there...your boyfriend doesn't know what he's doing any more than you do. At all. Bras, underwear, sexy stuff, all of that...he has NO CLUE, so no need to do something you don't want to try and please him.

Random point #3. My friend is conducting interviews for a world-class, very large corporation at a college this week. She text me to say that the outfits some of these college girls showed up in to the career fair were straight scandalous. Skin tight everything. Bandage skirts.

Herve Ledger via google images

Here, let's throw a blazer or cardigan over this and call it a day. Perfect interview outfit! No. Bandage skirts are not pencil skirts or suit skirts. Spandex shouldn't be in the interview room (unless it's Spanx, of course and we all know that's well hidden.)

The college guys seemed to have it figured out--suits only. Sexy and interview do not go together, I am so sorry. I wore a suit to my first interview junior year of college--it didn't fit me well, it was entirely too big, but I was covered head to toe. So what is up with this group of girls thinking this is appropriate?

Is it media? Surely not. Movie stars and TV stars have always dressed sexier than us "normal" folks. The Kardashians are way over the top, but if you watch the show, the younger Kardashian girls really don't dress like Kim, Kortney, and Khloe. Cause they are teenagers! So...why are middle America teenagers going crazy? Yes "sexy" is pushed down our throats every second of the day, but when did "overtly sexy" = "beautiful"? I didn't WANT to dress sexy in high school, it terrified the mess out of me to be revealing. Does it start with these "little girl beauty parlors" and that's why people are upset? I'm all about dressing nice to feel good about yourself and makeup and all of that, but it just seems like so much, way to soon for these young girls.

That's my soapbox. Thoughts from you, readers?

Coupon for Essie from RiteAid!

$2 off Essie polish, click below to claim

Rite Aid Offer

Also, Walgreens has been offering buy one get one half off on their Walgreens brand items. It's a good opportunity to stock up on lots of stuff from cotton balls to generic OTC meds and such!

Things I am irrationally obsessed with...

I have a tendency to start picturing things in my head and then becoming IRRATIONALLY obsessed with them. It is usually worse when the seasons are changing. So, for fun I thought I would share! In no particular order, and not limited to the following things:

• Essie's fall nail collection. I know. Me in love with nail polish YOU ALL MUST BE SHOCKED. But seriously, this is a fun collection.

www.essie.com

• Frye boots. I really wish these weren't $300+ Sigh...

image from google

• My Kindle and downloading every free book ever. Via the Kindle I somehow finally found Jane Austen at age 30, and now I'm obsessed with her too.

• Laura Mercier metallic creme eye color (which I will be purchasing before the week is up, I have no doubts) in Rose Gold

www.lauramercier.com

• Basically anything copper or rose gold for that matter

• Black and brown wedge heels...cause I wear heels all of NEVER. But I am still obsessed. 

• This dress by Sanctuary ($158 on Piperlime). Been staring at it for about two months now. And I. LOVE. IT.

piperlime.com

• Finding the perfect tinted moisturizer..light coverage but stays put, not greasy, right skin match. It's kinda getting to be a like a holy grail thing, and I'm probably going to end up with Laura Mercier here too, but we'll see.

• Cropped red or burnt orange skinny pants

piperlime.com

• Mustard yellow ANYTHING. I have a sweater similar to this from Urban outfitters (mine doesn't appear to be in stock anymore), and I kinda want to wear it every day.

www.urbanoutfitters.com

•  Pinterest.
• Chobani Lemon greek yogurt. 140 cal, no fat, and 15 g of protein. It tastes like lemon icebox pie, and you can see the little bits of ACTUAL LEMON in it. Delicious

www.chobani.com

•  This antique ring that I know is sitting at Lee Michael's jewelry in BR with no stone that wants to be in my life. Kinda like the one below, just no diamond in the center. "You finished your PhD" gift, perhaps??

Image from google

 Random, yes, but again just thought I would share! Any of you have some obsessions these days? Share in the comments.

Tuesday 9.20.11

Sorta slim list this week, but here are some fun links! I decided to not hop on the Emmy-fashion-review-train because A) I really didn't watch it and B) there were just too many people to discuss. Bella Sugar has a TON of reviews and such if you want to check them out, so does Beauty Blogging Junkie.

Also, I highly recommend picking up this month's Allure or going to their website HERE to peruse all their "Best of Beauty" winners. It's quite the expansive list. I can't really go through their items without basically plagiarizing, but definitely check it all out!

Tips for giving yourself a great manicure (or, the mistakes you make at home) from Beauty and the Budget. I am guilty of basically ALL of these.

And speaking of at-home manicures, I'm so about to try this top coat from Sally Hansen (thanks Jezebel)

If you've been thinking about cutting your hair shorter, here are some inspirations for different face shapes from Glo/MSN

It's not you, it's the clothes (from Already Pretty). It has taken me awhile to figure this out--that I could actually change things other than the hem--but now my tailor and I are tight buddies.

Zoe Saldana looking all chic at Micheal Kors (Frugal Fashionista)

I LOVE this rose-gold nail color by Deborah Lippman (Link from Bella Sugar)

Slideshow of models with little to no makeup and then done up all the way. While they are still really beautiful in the "before" shots they do feel a little more normal. Just goes to show what an amazing hair and makeup team can do. (W magazine, one pic NSFW)

I really can't deal with the cuteness

I usually save my links til Tuesday, but good LORD this girl was too cute to not share. I saw it on the Hairpin AND Boing-boing (link from Boing-boing).

Cutie-patotie Madison gives a Halloween makeup tutorial. STOP IT. She's got to be, what? 5? Adorable. My fav line? "I really love this you gotta try it" Homegirl will be backstage at NYFW one day..

Leather and beads

So before I start, let me give you a caveat and explain something about myself. Caveat: this post is not really beauty related, but I figure it's close enough. And then about me, or one of my quirks, if you want to call it that. When I learn how to do something, usually a crafty-type thing like making jewelry or painting or whatnot, I kinda become OCD about that certain thing for about a week or so, and then I trail off. My last obsession was watercolored cards--like for birthdays and such. I made a bunch in a short period, and then moved on to the next thing. And once again, I have been trapped by the craft bug and spent the last week all mired off in my obsession.

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Which is...Leather and bead wrapped bracelets. I love (excuse me, LURVE) Chan Luu bracelets (above), but my budget these days is just not allowing me to have one. So while I knew I couldn't make one quite as pretty I thought I'd at least figure out how to make the style. Thanks to the internet, I did. I typed "Leather and bead wrap bracelet" into Google and viola! Bracelet time. I used this YouTube tutorial from Beyond Bracelets and this written tutorial from How-to-make-jewelry.com. Without these, I would have never figured it out. They also had some great tips, like holding the top of the bracelet down on a foamboard using a binder clip, that basically I can't believe I had to have someone tell me cause they are so obvious yet smart. So off I went to Michael's (and later Hobby Lobby for round 2) to get supplies. I spent about $30 at Michael's and $25 at Hobby Lobby, but still have a bunch of material left over. That's the thing about jewelry making I am coming to find out: you buy 50 yards of beading thread for $5, but it lasts for AGES. So I'm not sure how to break out exactly how much each bracelet costs, but it's definitely less than the $225 Chan Luu. The beads are typically the most expensive thing depending on how nice they are, etc. (I have also been making earrings lately, so I am starting to catch onto the whole supplies cost thing. I think Etsy supplies is going to turn out to be a better bet than Michaels, but we'll see...and I'm digressing...)

SO. The bracelets. I made two double wrapped and two triple wrapped bracelets. The hardest thing to find was a bead that could work as the closure, like the ones above. Also, leather choices were slim to none. Out of the bracelets I made, I liked working with the 2 mm round leather cord the best and 2 mm or smaller beads (as the tutorials point out, your leather and beads should be of similar size/weight). So I think in the future I will use those sizes the most. The Chan Luu ones above seem even smaller, I couldn't find the supplies for that, but plan to check Etsy at a later date. So here are the finished products:

The pictures aren't the highest quality, I apologize. It's hard to take pics when they are on your arm!! Oh, the little single bracelets are just beads on this strand called "Stretch magic". It's translucent and slightly elastic. You just put the beads on, double over-hand knot the ends, and then I placed a crimp bead (the little silver ones if you can see them) over the knot to hide it. Super easy, and they should be fun to layer with the wrap bracelets.

Anyway, I just wanted to share because it was easy like WHOA to make these. I'd say it takes about an hour per bracelet, and once I got the hang of how to weave it I could make it while watching TV. A few tips: Make the threading lace a LOT longer than you think it needs to be (and it will be annoying to deal with, but just deal with it). Also, the suede seems like it would be pretty (bottom pic, farthest right bracelet), but it's kinda hard to deal with and doesn't lay quite as well as the round leather cording. Make sure you choose beading thread or cord NOT wire, and don't buy the translucent plastic kind, it kinda sucks. I bought black Beadalon Wildfire beading thread, and it worked out great.

Ok! So there ya go, a nice little craft project. Not really sure when I'll get to WEAR all these bracelets, but hey, I have 'em if I want to!

The first Tuesday links of fall!

Up until Tropical Storm Lee hit this weekend it was still 100 F in Louisiana. But thanks to that, it's now in the 70s. Glorious...It's Sept. Football has started. So. FALL.

Some fun new drugstore beauty products! (Bella Sugar)

You Beauty shares how to transition bronzer use into fall 

Every Cher outfit in Clueless in one minute. (The Hairpin) And FYI, Clueless is 16 years old. As if...

Zoe Saldana looking super cute for Jimmy Kimmel. (Frugal Fashionista) I am developing this obsession with coral right here as summer is ending, what is up with that?!

This has nothing to do with beauty, but it's hilarious and true. Why Yoga can be so Irritating (Although you should go anyway) from The Awl. I have been trying to get myself to go to yoga regularly, and I can relate to a lot of her points!

Another from the Awl/The Hairpin: The Olsen's new $39,000 bag. That's right. Three Nine Zero Zero Zero.

A Fall Trend Guide slideshow from Who What Wear. Now, this is a long slideshow. But ya know, maybe you're bored like I was!

How fabric softeners may cause you to break out. WTF?! T (the husband) has been breakin out for WEEKS...I wonder if this is it? (From Beauty Blogging Junkie)

Seems like with the Missoni line at Target coming soon, it's everything Missoni! Even Missoni-style nails (Bella Sugar)

How to get what you want at a salon from Real Simple. Listen. I am the most non-confrontational person ever. But if I am about to drop hundreds (and I do) at the salon, they are going to listen to me. NEVER feel like you can't say something at the salon if you don't like what is happening. Good tips on how to deal with these issues though.

Not beauty related, but I know a lot of you have read this book, so in case you didn't see it here's the first teaser trailer for the Hunger Games.  (MTV) It's definitely a teaser. Some woods. Katniss (who, btw, looks better than I thought when they first announced J. Lawrence in this role). Looking forward to seeing more!
---And speaking of Jennifer Lawrence. God bless her... just check out this vid on her 8 HOUR makeup call to just get in the Mystique costume for X-Men (from Bella Sugar. Note that there is some ever so slight nakedness, cause girl had to be painted from head to toe. So save for watching at home!)