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Jennifer Behr Spring 2014

So far Fashion Week has been underwhelming. It’s so depressing. Until I saw Jennifer Behr’s collection of headpieces. I’ve never heard of this designer and now I’m in ~love~! I have super curly hair so wearing any of these would end in an emergency pixie cut, but I still love them.

Jennifer Behr

Jennifer Behr

Jennifer Behr

I love these so much. $500 seems like a good deal for an instant princess kit. My husband doesn’t agree…yet. Check out the rest of her collection including a whole bridal line here.

Photo Credits: HonestlyWTF

Perfume Review: Cartier Declaration

I got a sample of Cartier Declaration from  Sephora and I’m surprised by it.

 

The bottle looks a bit strange. I’m not sure I would even want to display it. To me this smells like a men’s fragrance. I associate spicy fragrances with cologne, but this is marketed as a perfume. Cartier created this scent with aprox. 1 millions notes in it. I can’t smell most of them in this though. The cardamom and bitter orange are very strong, but the cedar evens the bitterness out. When it’s wet the caraway is strong, but upon drydown the bitter orange because the dominant note. I love this fragrance for men, but it’s not for me.

tl;dr: 5/5 spicy and smooth citrus

Perfume Review: Rosabotanica

I got the March VIB gift from Sephora early and I’m so glad. It’s a Balenciaga gift box with a square scarf and a small sample of the new Rosabotanica by Cristobal Balenciaga. I am in love with this new scent. I might need a full-size.

I’m in love with this scent. I MAYBE bought the full-size in between writing this post and editing. In bottle it smells exactly like Florabotanica which I hated, but on skin it’s completely different. It’s a nice even mix of fig and rose. It’s not my favorite tea rose. It’s more like a Damask Rose absolute. This scent is a combo of Imogen Rose by Lush and Philosykos by Diptyque. This all sits on top of a beautiful woodsy middle featuring vetiver. I always thought I didn’t like vetiver, but it works beautifully in this scent. It’s a strong scent with moderate to soft sillage so it’s perfect for work and other places where humans gather.

tl;dr: 5/5 woodsy and deep rose/fig scent.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Did y’all know about Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfumes? This is mostly Claire’s fault. It’s actually entirely Claire’s fault.

You all know I have a slight problem with perfumes. A friend recently introduced me to BPAL. I’ve been debating for over a week now on which scents to try out so I’m bringing it to the streets (of the internet). The streets I was raised on.

Here’s the list of samples I got.

• Bordello –  Bawdy plum with amaretto, burgundy wine and black currant.
• Deep In Earth – Rose geranium, Spanish moss, Irish yew, and graveyard dirt.
• The Ghost –  White iris, osmanthus, Calla lily, tomb-crawling ivy and a coffin spray of gladiolus, lisianthus and delphinium.
• Lucy’s Kiss – The gentle scent of rose and a blend of Victorian spices.
• Dana O’Shee – Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains.
• Sea of Glass – A scent of inimitable purity, crystalline grace, and limitless light.

I got one full sized bottle of Dawn: Maiden. This scent is based of a comic book series I have no idea anything about at all. But it sounded great!

• Dawn:Maiden – Tea roses, honeysuckle, heliotrope, olive blossom, milk, and honey.

I’m thinking about getting this full size next. It’s called Fairy Bites and it’s part of the Labyrinth collection.

• Fairy Bites – Osmanthus and raw honey with lavender, chamomile, white peppermint, raspberry, honeysuckle, thyme, bergamot, and Dracula orchid.

Have you ever tried BPAL? You have to check out her site here.

DIY? I Think I Will

I’ve been going through my Pinterest with a vengeance doing some of the craft projects I SWORE I would do.  I will obviously do like 10% of those. Max. My first two turned out pretty good.

I think we’ve all seen this pin.  So I decided to give it a try.

It worked out pretty well, I think! I added glitter to mine because I compulsively add glitter to everything. I used several thick coats of nail polish and waited for each side to dry before I flipped the key over. I did it again with glitter and then added two top coats. I did this about a week ago and so far no chips!

I only have two keys so I’m not sure how much this really helps me keep them organized in real life. It did add pink glitter to my life. So I’ll call that a win.

I saw this

 

UPDATE: Four weeks later and it still looks great.

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Oh man, I am SO upset about this book! After David Sedaris‘s last book I was really looking forward to this one. By that I mean, his last book sucked and left a comedy void in my soul. I had to read a lot of Dave Barry to fill that in. There were a few stories in this book that were hilarious. Like- you can’t read them in public because people will stare at you – hilarious. However the majority of these stories were frankly boring. It reminded me a bit of the show The Fabulous Beekman Boys. Parts of it are the funniest thing on TV and the other half is boring. Really, really boring. You absolutely MUST read “Dentists Without Borders” and “Understanding Understanding Owls.”

View all my reviews

It’s My Look

Looking back at my time in San Antonio, I can’t help but feel like I never really fit in anywhere. I made plenty of friends and some friends I will stay close with all my life. I never really found a group I did well with. I went out with plenty of groups and had a great time, but I never had a go-to group of friends for weekends. That’s mostly my fault though. There was no shortage of friendly people here. I spent time with several groups of people I would have been happy to be a part of. I just never…did.

One of my biggest regrets here in San Antonio is not really letting my personality shine to everyone. I know WHY I did that, but I don’t want to do it anymore. Dallas is a great opportunity for me to not only return home but return home as a grown-up me. That could mean displaying life lessons and a new-found maturity or… a makeover! I don’t know about you, but I’ll take any excuse for a makeover.

Here is my thought. I think I’ll stick with my usual somewhat neutral makeup. I usually wear shimmery neutrals with black eyeliner and mascara and a pink or a sheer natural red on my lips. My fashion wardrobe is a major work in progress. I’m thinking I need to return to my roots. My hair (Get it! It’s a PUN!). I love my hair. Not to brag, but I have the best hair in San Antonio and I love to show it off. I have approximately a million hair accessories and I’m ready to bring them back.

Without further ado (and tangents) here’s my grown-up hair accessories wish list with insightful comments on each image! Click on an image to get the gallery started.

** I feel like I should add that I have very curly, long hair.**

Ok maybe it’s not totally grown-up, but I’m pretending this is French chic. $18 at Antropologie.

Love these colors! $15 at Anthropologie.

If cat ears made out of fake roses don’t say “I’m an adult” then I don’t know what does. $16 from Urban Outfitters

I can see this in black or white in a more professional setting. Yes, I just used the phrase “professional setting” while discussing hair bows. Deal with it. $34 from Nordstrom

I would wear this more like a headband, but I really like it. $3.80 from Forever 21.

These have the girly with an edge look down. I love that they are teeny tiny, so it’s not too much. $2.80 from Forever 21.

This isn’t super adult, but COME ON! This was made for me. I’m going to end up tearing my hair out of this at the end of the day, but it will be so worth it. $9.80 from Forever 21.

How could you not trust a digital consultant with a Grumpy Cat bow? In fact, don’t trust a digital consultant without Grumpy Cat accessories. As a rule. $6.75 from crashedhope on Etsy

Oh! That’s where I put my deer. $30 from Charolastras on Etsy

I’m loving these country chic burlap bows. $5.50 from ClipaBowBoutique on Etsy

We all knew this wasn’t going to be over without a rose crown. $50 from BloomDesignStudio on Etsy.

I dare you to look at the last image without doing this.

Thanks to Darling Stewie for the post inspiration. Image Sources (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11)

South Whimsy

We’re going to Dallas! Marc got in to UT Southwestern and he’s starting his surgical residency soon. We’re excited to be closer to family, but there is so much to do! Right now we’re house hunting, but since it’s really hard to plan for that I’ve been dream house decorating! Follow my Pinterest board here too see all my house ideas. All 483 of them.

We have a house in mind, but I’m still totally unresolved about the floors. The floors in the house are mostly brick. They look just like this.

I really, really hate the brick look. It’s too much to use rugs to break it up. All the rooms with this kind of brick I’ve seen online so far are mostly neutral. The brick floor is the focus point. I want the brick floor to be ignored. I’m looking to make an eclectic living room. A little like Gilded Age meets neon.

I don’t know if it’s possible to bleach them to make them lighter? I’m thinking about covering them all with wood at this point. Any suggestions?

(image from Whitehaven Interiors)

Alberta Ferretti 2013 Fall NYFW

I’ve never heart of Alberta Ferretti before, but I’m now a devotee. I’m loving her feminine flair for this Fall.

The standout piece to me is the gorgeous dark blue velvet dress. I cannot get over the detailing in the skirt. The pattern is so Art Deco.

Which look are you loving?