– I can't say I was an avid fan of Bowie, but I definitely admired him – he was a strange guy but not for the sake of being strange. He was authentically weird, and I loved that. Here's a look back at some of his most memorable makeup ensembles.
– In addition to enjoying an arsenal of privileges, a new study shows that pretty girls also receive better grades. Er, did we really need a study for that? While the news is completely unsurprising and also depressing, I take comfort in the fact that as a non-pretty person, I can conclude that my excellent academic record was earned purely on merit.
– I can't believe this ad exists in 2016. As a corollary, while searching for vintage compacts I stumbled across hard evidence that blackface was a real thing that white people really did. I mean, I knew that already but seeing the actual product was mind-blowing.
– In '90s nostalgia, one author explains why 1995 was the best year for movies. I'm not sure I agree since Pulp Fiction was released in 1994, but it's a good argument nevertheless.
If you celebrate Christmas, I hope Santa was good to you! If not, I hope you had a great week. I had a nice time visiting my parents and made out like a bandit present-wise, which I'll be posting about shortly. :) Without further ado, here's the last link gathering for the year!
– "I know spending $30 on a black eyeliner just because I like the packaging or the brand is absurd, but I can’t stop doing it anyway, and I have no plans to." Obviously I'm in full agreement with this defense of buying expensive beauty products.
– We've heard of brow bars, but I believe Eyeko may offer the first mascara bar.
– I curse on occasion in my posts but I try to keep it to a minimum, and I really rein in my foul mouth at work and around children, but generally speaking I swear like a sailor. Interestingly, a new study shows that swearing is a sign of high intelligence. Damn fucking right it is!
– Now for some holiday decor pics! The husband got this lovely bouquet:
And I got these silly kitchen towels:
Here's a mini tree and a Pillsbury Dough Boy-themed Christmas house. When I was little I had a serious obsession with the Pillsbury Dough Boy and my dad got me this for Christmas one year.
And here's our tree!
I'll spare you yet more pictures of the faux fur blanket, but, again, I encourage you to treat yourself and get one.
How have you been? If you celebrate, are you ready for Christmas? I just need a couple stocking stuffers, but other than that I think I'm set.
Links for the week, plus some bonus pics of my Holiday Heap haul.
Now for some pictures of what I got from the Charm City Craft Mafia's Holiday Heap show. First up is this mermaid paper cut print. I had to get it because, duh, mermaids.
We went a little crazy with the adorable stuff that Cedar and Fawn had. They primarily do ceramics but they also had this set of 10 tiny houses. We have no idea where we're going to put them but they were too cute to pass up.
As a funny (or not so funny) side note, a few minutes before I took pictures of these I managed to completely fall and land very hard on my right shoulder and upper back. I was very pleased with what we got at the craft show and arranging everything all nice and pretty on the kitchen island for pictures and then BAM! Down I went. I now have several huge bruises and can't move my arm much, but I'm grateful that 1. I didn't wipe out in public, only in front of the husband (who laughed hysterically once I confirmed nothing was broken/dislocated); 2. I was still in the staging phase of the photos and not holding my camera, otherwise it would have gone flying out of my hand; and 3. I hurt only my upper body and not my legs/knees/feet – my lower half can't sustain any more injuries! I still have no idea how I fell either, all of the sudden I just lost my balance and came crashing to the floor. The husband says I was so excited about our haul that I simply couldn't remain upright…I guess that's plausible. More likely is that I'm just super clumsy.
How was your week?
Links for the week.
– Move over, dyed armpit hair – the newest underarm trend is glitter pits. (Who comes up with this stuff, anyway?!)
– Here's a hair trend Makeup Museum staff was very interested in. Secret Mission Babo was also intrigued by this "hair ninja". Finally, I love my hair stylist but as someone who hates making small talk I wouldn't mind having a quiet chair.
– The notion of "Da Vinci lips" is kind of stupid…I would hope any doctor administering lip injections would take the patient's facial proportions into consideration rather than indiscriminately puffing up their lips. It's just something they should be doing already.
– When I was little I used to sit on the floor under a blanket and fan it out so that it made a mermaid tail…I must have known there was a market for this!
How have you been this week? And don't forget to enter the Museum's giveaway!!
– As a long-time Allure fan, I was saddened to read of founding editor Linda Wells' departure from the publication. Allure has been my favorite magazine for years, and I'm sure it's due in no small part to Wells' talent. Hopefully former Nylon editor Michelle Lee will continue the quality content.
– As for real tattoos, I'm currently researching where to get one (finally going to take the plunge after 15 years of wanting one but not getting it because of everyone telling me not to), and I can safely say that using your own personal tattoo machine is NOT the way to go. Leave tats to the professionals, kids. Speaking of which, I came across this awesome blog (run by the same person who writes ExhibiTricks) – I hope I can submit my tattoo shortly.
– I saved the best for last! You might remember last week I linked to the new song "Eating Makeup" featuring my idol Kathleen Hanna, and this week the video was released. Bust described it as "Pee-Wee's Playhouse meets John Waters", and that is dead on.
The random:
– In '90s nostalgia, the sweater Kurt Cobain wore on a 1993 performance on MTV's Unpluggedfetched $137,500 at a recent auction in LA. #worthit
– To the people freaking out about the Starbucks holiday cups: you should be offended by these sweaters instead, courtesy of Nordstrom and Target. Also, enjoy these alternative cups.
– "What kind of makeup am I gonna get to taste…" Here's a catchy, funny new song featuring the excellent Kathleen Hanna. (If you're a Le Tigre fan I think you'll like this.)
– For God's sake, don't try this "trick", a.k.a. a fiery disaster waiting to happen. Just heat up your eyelash curler with a hairdryer, which I do every morning. Trust me, it's effective and much less dangerous.
– LOL. I just hope they gave these women real makeovers afterwards.
– To those 1-minute videos showing various beauty trends throughout history: check and mate.
The random:
– Ooooh, another interview with Carrie. Also, I loved our wedding officiant but I'm dying of jealousy after seeing this.
I can't get enough lattes and cookie butter, so I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the latest offering from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (too bad there are no locations here). Your move, Starbucks.
– Speaking of coffee, I think this is one of the greatest ideas ever, naysayers be damned. I love the taste of coffee but I can't handle the caffeine, so this is right up my alley.
– If you're in the Fairfield, CT area I beg you to check out the Hair in the Classical World exhibition going on through December 18th. (It was curated by, ahem, two art history professors.)
– "We need to get rid of this assumption that women who like wearing makeup are insecure." LOVED Project Vanity's response to a Philippines men's magazine article singing the praises of women who don't wear much makeup.
Now onto Pumpkinfest 2015! If you're not familiar, I started this tradition in 2011 when I went on a pumpkin baking spree on a whim. It's basically a one-woman baking marathon centered on pumpkin desserts that occurs sometime in October. I like to think of it as a warmup to all the Thanksgiving and holiday baking I do. Anyway, Museum staff members were most excited.
I made 5 desserts, 4 of which turned out pretty well and the 5th was a total fail. Well, not a complete loss – it tasted good – but I really messed up the construction. I made pumpkin spice latte ice cream, pumpkin cookies with PSL M & Ms, brownies with Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookie Butter (which, if you can believe it, is more addictive than their regular cookie butter), pumpkin muffins, and a pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling. The pumpkin muffins look burned but they're not – it's a delicious cinnamon sugar topping.
You'll notice the pumpkin roll is not included in the photo because that was the dessert I mangled. In my defense, it was my first time making a rolled cake and I got confused with the relatively complicated instructions, so I somehow ended up rolling the entire cake with parchment paper. Oops. What we managed to salvage was yummy but it was one sad-looking cake. But all in all, a good effort.
How are you? Are you doing anything fun for Halloween?
Links for the week.
