the hooded parka

Surely winter could not come and go without at least the consideration of a new coat. Surely.

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And wouldn’t you know it, I found one! An olive green parka with a fur lined hood, like I’ve been hoping to find for ages. Ages I tell you. Cotton, not down, but still quite heavy and warm, and not $600. Not inexpensive, either, but that’s a coat for you.

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It’s getting to be that time where the fashion element of the site consists of various outerwear and protective gear. I do love coats, but still. It’s going to be a lot of coats. A lot of a few coats. One does want to look just as stylish with or without a coat, true. I’ll be mostly wearing thermal shirts and sweaters underneath them so will probably look a good deal more put together with the coat on, but one does long for the days of bare arms and wearing whatever one wants.

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Two scarves!

Zara parka, Express Jeans, Jeffrey Campbell France Strapped boots (I do like olive and rust together). On the lips: MAC lipstick in Hang Up, a deep raspberry bordeaux, which liking very much. I need to do another bordeaux lip round up, I think. Have found several I like since the first one.

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I can’t get enough of dramatic hoods and collars, and dramatic necklines in general. Fur is an easy way to achieve this kind of massive sculptural volume around the shoulders and/or throat, and I’m always lamenting that some of the old school strategies have gone out of style, i.e. ruffs and vertiginously high collars. A generous hood can be such a pleasing frame for the head and shoulders when down (think the massively hooded cloaks the women are wearing throughout the Danish film Babette’s Feast – excellent film btw), it’s almost a shame to put it up. Then, though, up it is a completely different kind of pleasing frame.

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autumn palettes

There are two eyeshadow palettes I’m particularly looking forward to using for autumn, I think you’ll immediately see why.

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The Sleek Sunset palette has those warm, rusty tones I’ve been banging on about for ages, and a great Mediterranean blue (if you want to try that bold pop of blue under the eyes à la the Marc Jacobs show, which I definitely do*). Nicely priced, too. The Dior Earth Tones palette (discontinued now but there are similar ones) is a lovely example of those muddy olive and burgundy tones I like so predictably every time I come across them. Rather staggeringly priced. Beautiful in application, though, quite a sumptuous formulation, and I’m feeling no pangs about it.

I never get tired of browsing great masses of colors, individually or in combination, and deciding which I like best, which I am drawn to the most. I think I will not disclose how long I spent trying to find the Dior palette once it had been chosen. Or once it chose me, as it so often seems.

*Experimentation is salutary.

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If you’re curious, I’ll likely apply them with one or more of these favorite eye brushes.

IMG_7421Top to bottom: Sigma tapered blending brush, MAC 217, bamboo bdellium 785 (best value blender here, and so soft, though the Sigma brushes are well priced, too), Paula Dorf sheer crease brush (current favorite), Sigma E20, essence of Beauty crease brush (from the little drugstore crease duo), e.l.f. contour brush, e.l.f. eye shadow “C” brush (this is such an incredible value*, I think the blush brush is fantastic, too).

*essentially I believe in spending over $10 for a good blending brush (once you use a good one you understand that you aren’t going back to whatever you did before…however you don’t need this many. Only one. Or, for convenience, two, where one stays largely clean throughout the process for additional blending while the other deposits the color. Oh, just go watch Lisa Eldridge, OK?), but not for a flat shading brush.

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All kitted out like this, you’d think I’d wear eyeshadow more often.

I intend to work on that.

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