trench - The Seventh Sphinx

For an effortless, sheer shadow with low-level sophisticated shimmer, look to the Burberry Sheer Eyeshadows. The Burberry makeup line is nice across the board, great formulations for lips, base, eyes, face, but for the most part I think it’s too expensive to be truly tempting, and their colors are overwhelmingly neutral. If I am up for the Burberry price tag, I go to Chanel (blush, lipstick), Dior (eyeshadow), or Guerlain (bronzer), where the options are iconic, proven, and where I’ve made happy choices in the past.

That said, these eyeshadows are really so nice. They are not highly pigmented (one popular way of determining the quality of a shadow) but we do not hold this against them as it is not their purpose. Their purpose is to be uniformly pigmented and slightly creamy in texture (imagine the texture of a Dior shadow with half the pigmentation) such that they give a foolproof wash of color that is ideal for a polished, understated look. Their colors are virtually all shades of beige and brown, and they are lovely.

I plumped for the shade Gold Trench #4, a beautiful pale gold (I wish this were the color of my trench coat). As if I needed yet another gold eyeshadow. I also like Pale Barley (silvery taupe) and Midnight Brown (chocolate brown). Great for an easy single shadow look.

This look has a polished up top/party downstairs contrast that I like. The multiple anchors of solid white bring it all together for me.

These shoes are quite fake. Les knockoffs.* I wanted to try out the studded look and find that I like it, but it’s not love. They are uncomfortable, too. I have too many other shoes I prefer to keep them but they have convinced me that I want to find a pair of white pumps. I’m totally on board with the trend of white pumps.

*I don’t generally have much interest in knockoffs—I don’t generally have much interest in their originals—but once in a while they are convenient for playing. I don’t feel a moral quandary about it when the original is something I would never consider purchasing anyway. Louboutin is not losing a potential sale here. Still, they are unsatisfying unless made well in their own right, and desired in their own right (there is a bag I want, of which I’m considering getting a (still pretty expensive, but comparably cheap) replica, because I find the silhouette so appealing and can find no wantable substitute) which they usually are not. I often later think my money could have been better spent…this is undeniably the case. It always serves as a lesson, however, and from such lessons one emerges an increasingly superior shopper.**

**Interesting thoughts on this in Garance Dore’s recent post about style bloggers being, in a way, people who are just really good at shopping for themselves. There is a lot of truth to this, I’d say.

This is the Givenchy Fushcia Irresistable lipstick, the Japonesque blush, and a bit of playing around with the Kat Von D Monarch palette.

Floral leggings (thrifted), Banana Republic trench (thrifted), Loslandifen pumps (eBay), Lands End turtleneck (thrifted), Mulberry Roxanne bag (thrifted), Pearls of Joy 10mm studs. On the nails: Essie polish in Naughty Nautical.

Tag: trench

Gold Trench No. 4

the floral print