plaid & leather

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This is MAC Living Legend lipstick, from their new The Matte Lip collection, much blotted. Their matte formulas are not my favorite (neither my favorite matte formula (NARS velvet matte lip pencil) nor my favorite MAC formula (creamsheen)), they can be patchy and drying at their worst, but they are mostly good (you have to asses on a case by case basis, not uniform in behavior, which is usually the case anyway no matter the brand). For the right color, more than good enough.

[I’ve only just noticed how well it matches my bag! This is what happens when you consistently go for the same shades regardless of context.]

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I like the plaid contrasted with the leather here. Especially such a bright plaid with black leather.

This is not a bad formula for an interesting outfit: put together two very different outfits, each reflecting a uniform aesthetic, wear half of one and half of the other. Or put together three, or four, and so on.

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This is an Essie polish in Dressed to Kilt, a dark blue-toned red from their fall 2014 collection. Once you find a red lipstick you like, try to find a nail polish in that color (or vice versa), odds are good you’ll like it on the nails as well. I should do a post trying to match a lipstick to this. Don’t let me forget.

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Allsaints leather jacket, J Crew oxford plaid shirt (I kind of went to town in the J Crew fall sale…you’ll see), Express tuxedo leggings, New Balance Stadium Jacket sneakers, Free People tote, double-sided faux pearl earrings (eBay, originally a Dior design. Quite cool, I think, though maybe better to wear only one at a time).

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on a rose kick

I recently realized that all of the lip balms out on my dressing table are rose scented.

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What?! I like options! (Oh, I got this acrylic organizer at TJ Maxx, which liking.)

Completely unintentional!

I have a thing for rose, definitely (well, yes, and lip balm). I knew that already, but I seem to be on a real kick at the moment.

Here we have Rosebud Salve, a classic (I like the minted rose one, too), Jurlique’s Rose Love Balm, a deluxe sample of By Terry Baume de Rose (ridiculously expensive but also really, really nice. Wonderfully emollient, thick, feels productive to put it on), and an organic rose petal balm by a family friend. Which balm I reach for depends on the state of the lips and how I’m planning to follow up. I really do use all of them.

What you don’t know is that the Dior Creme de Rose balm (still love) and rose-scented Vaseline (which I don’t like as much as Rosebud Salve, not by a longshot, and won’t repurchase) are on my bedside table…

[Along with the unsexy Blistex Lip Medex, the mentholated tingle of which I enjoy.]