Une Belle Époque

"Oh, darling, I've been so miserable."

2011-12-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

I was initially going to start this off with how my holidays were, but they were nothing short of mediocre so I'm not going to anymore. To sum my vacation up, my parents and I (because my younger pre-teen sister doesn't like to leave her room) watched Bridesmaids. And that's it... Okay, moving on...

I really blog too much about Kate Winslet. And I apologize for it, but I'm not really sorry. Anywho, I pre-ordered HBO's Mildred Pierce DVD set probably about three or four months ago and it arrived at the beginning of the month. It stars Kate as Mildred Pierce, Guy Pearce as Monty Berragon and Evan Rachel Wood as Veda Pierce. I'm contemplating how I'm going to write about this without giving everything away... Okay, let me just say that the 344 minutes that I spent watching all five parts was probably the most intense 344 minutes I have ever spent watching anything in my entire life. And by the end of it all, I was a puddle of conflicting emotions and completely drained of whatever I had left in me. It's just such a tragic story of this mother-daughter relationship. I went to bed that night wondering how in the hell can someone betray someone who has loved them so unconditionally their entire life and has done everything for them? Are people really that insanely selfish? Do people like this actually exist?

I'm in love with my Honors American Literature class. Well, not my actual class in terms of the people in my class - because all of them (besides probably three people - including myself) seem entirely disinterested and it makes me wonder why the hell they take the class in the first place if they don't give a shit about it. I love the actual curriculum and the literature we've been reading for the past few months. We're in the 20's era of American literature - the lost generation and I am in love with it. We read The Great Gatsby last month which I've become so attached to. Also, also, also, also - I am ridiculously excited for the movie version of The Great Gatsby that comes out Christmas 2012. Leonardo DiCaprio is Gatsby, Toby Maguire is Nick, and Carey Mulligan as Daisy - what a dream team. Back to the literature aspect of this, we're in the middle of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway and ugh, it's so great. I also love the drastic difference (but equal quality) of Hemingway and Fitzgerald's style of writing. I found The Great Gatsby to be so beautifully descriptive. However, it wasn't superfluous in the least. Where as The Sun Also Rises is very straight forwardly written, not to say that it isn't descriptive or doesn't provoke any imagery - but I find it to be very honest. I love Hemingway's vagueness and ambiguity about some matters - such as Jake's wound and whether or not it's an emotional or physical wound. It's one of those details that are critical to the story but is still left up for the interpretation of the reader.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan as Gatsby and Daisy in the 2012 release of The Great Gatsby.

Ernest Hemingway and friends in Spain, 1925.

I feel like what has also fueled this budding passion of mine for the 1920's might have been the fact that I went to see The Artist with a friend over the holidays. It's a silent film that takes place in 1927 and further on. I went into the theatre not knowing what to expect. To be honest, I felt that there would be the possibility of me falling asleep at some point. But I was so pleasantly surprised! I actually got really into it and by the end I was wishing that this was how movies were still made.

Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo.

Oh hey back to Kate Winslet hey. I'm in the middle of reading The Reader and holy shit. I'm not even the type to go out of my way in my free time to read, but literally the first day I started reading this book, I got through 80 pages by noon. Go and read the book and watch the movie forever. I've actually been highlighting and making post-its in the story while I read and I'm just coming across so many incredible quotes so here you go:

In describing Hanna:

"It was more as if she had withdrawn into her own body, and left it to itself and its own quiet rhythms, unbothered by any input from her mind, oblivious to the outside world...she was slow-flowing, graceful, seductive -- a seductiveness that had nothing to do with breasts and hips and legs, but was an invitation to forget the world in the recesses of the body."

"But when we had held each other for a while, when I had smelled her smell and felt her warmth and her strength, everything fell into place."

"...and she taught me not to do it bashfully, but with assurance and possessive thoroughness."

"Hanna had been behaving oddly for days, moody and peremptory, and at the same time palpably under some kind of pressure that was absolutely tormenting her and left her acutely sensitive and vulnerable...I felt rejected, but I also felt her helplessness."

Hanna says to Michael, "...You think it looks like you upset me? You don't have the power to upset me." (in the movie Kate Winslet also says "You don't matter enough to upset me." = dead Maya)

Michael -

"Why does what was beautiful suddenly shatter in hindsight because it concealed dark truths? ... Sometimes the memory of happiness cannot stay true because it ended unhappily."

"I felt at ease in my own body."

"But I felt rejected, exiled from the real world in which people lived and worked and loved."

I went into Sephora the other day with the objective to buy a Lancôme foundation. I was getting tired of how mask-y my MAC ProLongwear had been feeling as of late and my usual NC25 has become too light for my skin. I've also recently read that French makeup brands have a more accurate variety of skin tones. So I figured I would try and swap my MAC for Lancôme. I get to Sephora and start testing a bunch of shades on my hand and my face. Then an employee approaches me and asks if I need any help, I just tell her that I don't really need help, and that I'm just looking for the right shade. "What are your problem areas?" she asks me. I tell her that I'm not really sure, acne probably (I mean, what the hell else do people buy foundation for besides to conceal acne and dark spots/discoloration??). She tells me that I should really be looking at Clinique's Acne Solutions foundation because it's supposed to help with acne. "Oh! So, it has salicylic acid?" I asked her and she just stared at me for a bit until I said "...to help clear up the acne." She then nods her had and goes "Oh yes, yes, yes." I reluctantly went to the Clinque counter incredibly disappointed because I didn't want Clinique, I wanted Lancôme (#whitegirlproblems). She then gets another employee who, poor thing, didn't know very much English, to help me find my right skin tone. We find the right skin tone and she goes to the back to find if they had any extras as they had run out in front. Turns out they didn't have any left but she gave me a sample to take home and told me to come the next morning when they should have more in stock. Ugh, I didn't want to leave at all because I had this awful feeling of coming into the store with a purpose and knowing exactly what I wanted and then having to leave without it. I ended up saying "fuck it" and I bought the Lancôme foundation anyway because it's my money and I can buy whatever the hell I want with it. It's an incredible foundation, by the way. So super smooth and light and non-greasy, and it matches my skin tone perfectly, my awkward milky-yellow skin tone... I guess my point of writing this was because I was kind of pissed at the woman who was trying to help me. She just kept interrupting me and wouldn't actually let me explain to her what I was looking for. She just had this awful attitude that she knew more about makeup (which is bullshit because she didn't even know what salicylic acid does!) and that I should buy whatever she told me to. She was more pushy than helpful. But it's okay now because I have my makeup :).

I'm going to write about my love of Lana Del Rey again because qurlfran is blowin' up my Tumblr dash. I love it though! I think she's incredibly talented, her voice is so unique - it kind of reminds me of T-boz of TLC. Anywho, her new song "Born to Die" is incredible - I can listen to it forever. And someone has mashed up Lana's "Video Games" with Lady Gaga's "Yoü & I" which didn't really appeal to me initially but holy shit this song gives me chills for some reason. So. Good.

Friday night I went to go see The Iron Lady with a friend. I saw the preview for it when I went to see The Artist. I don't even know where to begin, you guys. Meryl Streep is just the most magnificent woman, I swear. It was incredible, of course her accent was perfect but her entire embodiment of Margaret Thatcher was beyond anything I had ever seen. Down to her walk and the way she looked around the room, she was Margaret Thatcher. Everything about this movie was fantastic, one of the best, if not, the best film I had watched all year. The way it was directed and filmed was perfect, the cast was perfect, Meryl Streep was perfect. Everything about this film was absolutely perfect. The goddamn font for the credits was perfect, you guys. The way her story is told is very unique, I really enjoyed it. It was the kind of movie where I would get these waves of emotion throughout the film but it was never enough to make me cry...until the end, that is, and I couldn't hold back anymore and let loose one of the ugliest cries I ever had. I can't recommend it enough. If Meryl Streep doesn't get nominated at the very least for an Oscar for Best Actress, or win for that matter, then I've lost faith in the film industry forever.

I'm basically just really happy that Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet exist.

UPDATE: baby qurls won at the Golden Globes <#3333333435345645676575 hoooorayyyyy!!!

"We eat, we fuck, we shit, we kill, we die."

2011-11-28T10:00:00.001-08:00

I have been in the biggest movie-mood. For the past two weeks I swear I must have watched around 10 movies. Breaking Dawn was amongst them and I am ashamed of myself. I think I read Twilight in eighth grade once and I liked it but that was also around the time where the hype was becoming absolutely ridiculous about the movie, so I got over it quickly. Although I'm not a fan at all of the series or of the movies, I've somehow managed to get dragged along to the midnight premiering of the first two films and I saw this past one the day after in came out (older sister wanted to "bond" with me...). I'm not going to write about it because I couldn't' care less about the movie and I'm not into that kind of fantasy fiction genre.

Two movies that I will write about, however, are Welcome to the Dollhouse and Quills - pretty much polar opposites in all senses.

Before dinner on Thanksgiving last weekend, I sat in my room with a glass of wine and watched Welcome to the Dollhouse on my laptop. I don't even know what to say about this movie, I just thought it was great. Heather Matarazzo (who I recognized as Mia's best friend in The Princess Diaries) plays Dawn, this geeky, 7th grade girl who everyone hates for whatever reason, and is neglected by her parents who dote on her younger sister. She falls in love with this beefy high school senior and kind of dates this kid in her grade who threatened to rape her after calling him "retarted." The thing is that this movie is filmed in such a way that makes everything I have written above absolutely hilarious. It's such an awkward 90's film, I love it.

The second film that I want to write about is Quills. Made in 2000, the movie takes place in the French "Reign of Terror" era in the late 1700's. It is about the Marquis de Sade's erotic fantasy writings during his stay in an insane asylum at Charenton. His stories were depicted as blasphemous against the Catholic church. Geoffrey Rush plays the Marquis (magnificently, might I add), Joaquin Phoenix is the conservative and prude Abbé, and Kate Winslet is Madelyn (Maddie) the laundress of the asylum who was one to enjoy the Marquis' writings and to enable him to continue with his stories in such dyer conditions. Of course, I find the Marquis liberal view during such a constrictive time to be incredibly intriguing and inspiring. But what I find so outstanding about this movie was the Marquis's commitment he had to his stories. What is about to be written could be considered a spoiler: When Abbé took his quills, paper and ink away, he wrote with a chicken wishbone and red wine on his bed sheets to give to Maddie (which earned her a brutal whipping), when they took his bed, sheets and almost every bit of furniture away from his room - he smashed a mirror, pricked all of his fingers and with the glass filled all of his garments with stories, when his clothes were taken away - he whispered his stories through the holes of the walls of his inmates (similar to a game of Telephone) to have it written by Maddie at the end, and when he was chained and isolated in an underground cell - he wrote with his own filth on the walls. Disgusting, yes. But somehow still magnificent. And by magnificent, I mean the absolute necessity he felt to have his stories (no matter how sexually explicit and violent) written and read.

On Wednesday I went into the city to see the Broadway revival of Godspell. Let me just profess my abundant love of this play right now. We did a production of it as my school's Spring musical last year, I played Gilmer. When we first found out that we would be doing Godspell as the Spring musical, a solid majority of everyone involved in the theatre program at my school's reaction was "What the fuck?". No one really knew about the play, or didn't like the religious aspect of it. But when we got into the middle/end of rehearsals and finally the performances, everyone fell in love with it. The messages that we were trying to get across through the stories we told, as well as the musical itself, are still extremely relevant and meaningful. Not to mention that all of the music is incredible. To add onto this fantastic show we were putting on, the cast bonded so profoundly. I miss it all. Anywho, onto the real Godspell on Wednesday. Everyone in the entire cast was so tremendously talented that it made me hate myself...not really, but still. Now, Uzo Aduba was hilarious (everyone was, but she just stood out to me) and Lindsay Mendez is my favorite. I don't mean to, but I feel like if there is ever a show/movie/musical...etc that I'm watching, I normally subconsciously pick a favorite character for whatever reason. Lindsey Mendez just so happens to be that person in this case (qurlfran kicked azz in "Bless the Lord!!~). At the end of the show I was a bawling mess, so much so that I could't stop crying even as the cast was doing their bows. I also got teary in the way beginning for "Save the People" - which is actually a very upbeat song. I couldn't help it though, I was so moved. Their rendition of "Beautiful City" absolutely blew me away (that song is optional in this show, and the directors decided to not include in my school's production). I also found there to be this huge difference between the emotion this show evoked from me while I was watching it as opposed to when I was performing it six months ago. You all should go and see it. Right now. Go. No, finish reading my blog and then go.

Photos: Godspell.com

Just watch the first three minutes of this video of Lindsey Mendez and the cast rehearsing "Bless the Lord" Ugh. So good.

I've also stumbled upon (not actually stumbled... I found on Tumblr to be technical) "This Is Hanging Rock Comics" and this girl is insane. Absolutely insane with her illustrations that are such accurate depictions of teenage lyf ~.

Comics: This is Hanging Rock Comics

I've also made the decision to say "Yes" to more things. Saying "No" only holds you back, I've decided. Totally having a Jim Carrey Yes Man moment right now.

Since I've been on this Kate Winslet-movie-watching-spree lately, I've been feeling a lot better about my body. She is just such a real woman. American society has this completely distorted standard of what is considered beautiful. What has also inspired this epiphany was the fact that when I went to the Met about two weeks ago I realized my love for the ancient Greek and European statues. They're gorgeous, and the female bodies were gorgeous as well. I'd like to try my best to ignore what society tries to shove down our throats and to follow my own definition of what I find beautiful.

2011 Emmys

Stella McCartney

St. John ad

Marilyn on vacation (1956)

Still from The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)

I want to say around 1954(?)

I want to say '56...I should really know this one, this set is so famous...

John Willie's Diary of a French Maid (1948-1950)

A portion of Luis Ricardo Faléro's Departure of the Witches (1878)

Statue of Aphrodite (1st/2nd Century A.D.)

Statue of Aphrodite (2nd Century B.C.)

"you don't matter enough to upset me."

2011-11-09T17:19:00.000-08:00

This might just be me, but I feel like the weeks have been going by especially slow lately. I feel like I don't have a lot of time for things when I obviously do because I manage to get everything that needs to be done, done. Being that said, this is the first time in months that I haven't had work to do after school. Needless to say, I felt this would be an appropriate time to attempt to write about the past week and a half.

Last Monday was Halloween, which evidently wasn't even nearly as awesome as it has been in years past. There was this whole issue with having a foreign friend come to school with me, which ended up in us just going back to my house and screwing around with makeup. I decided to play around with the theme of Twiggy.

le result:

Lately, I feel like I've been suppressing a lot of emotions for the sake of moving on, in a sense, and mainly just to get everything done efficiently without feelings getting in the way. However, I'm not entirely sure if that's a very good strategy because I found all of these emotions hitting me incredibly hard on Sunday. I need to figure out whether or not I would prefer to have emotional fits every few days or just one big breakdown at the end of the week. Right now, I'm leaning towards the latter, just for the sake of it not getting in the way of getting work done. Anywho, I was in the weirdest emotional mood on Sunday, I really didn't want to do anything and I just felt like crying. But there was nothing there to make me cry. It was as if the feelings were there, but something had to happen to make me cry. So I go onto iTunes to try and download Titanic... Come to find out that iTunes doesn't even HAVE it. However, I found a Titanic slideshow on YouTube to the Mika song "Happy Ending" which was more than enough to get me sobbing within the first three seconds. Seriously though.

I then got to thinking about how much I actually adore Kate Winslet and how I really should be familiar with more of her films than just Titanic and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. So over the week, I rented and bought Revolutionary Road - hooray for a Kate and Leo rekindling

- and The Reader.

Here's the thing about Revolutionary Road - every single morning on my way to school I watch these boring suburban parents drop off their asshole teenage kids at school at 7am. I see them sit alone at the stoplight in their cars tired as all hell and I can't help but think that I never want to end up like that. To be a stay-at-home mom or even a working mom living in a well-off suburban town with the same routine every day for the rest of my life. I couldn't do it. I don't want to be trapped. Also, The Reader has changed the way I view things. The movie alone made me nearly cry about five times. I just feel like Hanna and Michael's love seemed so genuine in the movie that their age played absolutely no role in their relationship whatsoever and was, if anything, completely irrelevant (ps. the scene when they make love for the last time on his birthday makes me want to bawl because you can just see the inner turmoil that Hanna is going through). And let me just say that both movies are incredible and highly recommended. I'm also planning on watching Heavenly Creatures today and Little Children, The Holiday, and Quills later on this weekend. Also, Carnage opens in theaters on December 16th for me. So, yeah, it's been a Kate Winslet week for me.

I also can't get over her face. Other than the fact that she is absolutely stunning in all sense of the word and has the sassiest right eyebrow ever, she embodies her characters so incredibly well that every subtle movement is entirely that of her character. I can't even properly describe it, but if you've seen a Kate Winslet film, you'll know what I mean. I'm going to keep going on the subject of Kate Winslet and say that I love how she's a real woman. I think she's the only actress to make me happy with my body and very, very proud to be a woman.

...every cabbage has its pimp

2011-10-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

This week, my theatre teacher asked a few of us to come in and read Act II of the script that we are doing as the winter play. The play was "The Madwoman of Chaillot, and I fell in love with it. It's a light play but managed to have a surprising amount of depth to it. My teacher recited this beautiful monologue that a young waitress named Irma says at the end of the first act:

"I hate ugliness. I love beauty. I hate meanness. I adore kindness. It may not seem so grand to some to be a waitress in Paris. I love it. A waitress meets all sorts of people. She observes life. I hate to be alone. I love people. But I have never said I love you to a man. Men try to make me say it. They put their arms around me; I pretend I don’t see it. They pinch me; I pretend I don’t feel it. They kiss me; I pretend I don’t know it. They take me out in the evening and make me drink but I am careful, I never say it. If they don’t like it they can leave me alone. Because when I say I love you to him, he will know just by looking in my eyes that many have held me and pinched me and kissed me, but I have never said I love you to anyone in the world before. Never. No. (Looking at Pierre and whispers) I love you."

What makes this monologue so heartbreakingly beautiful is that at the end when she whispers "I love you", she says it to an empty space next to her where Pierre had just been sitting a moment ago.

I finished watching the film version in which Katherine Hepburn does an incredible job portraying The Madwoman of Chaillot, Aurelia.

While walking into the Media Center at my school today, I passed a book on display about Marlene Dietrich. For some reason, there was a National LGBT something poster above the books on display and that sparked my remembrance that Marlene Dietrich was pretty liberal with her sexuality, which I find so great. During that time I actually researched Dietrich's sexuality and I came across this picture of Marlene and Édith Piaf smooching to find out the two were actually very good friends. "Very good friends" meaning that they were really very good friends (Marlene was Édith's maid of honor at her wedding) as well as the "very good friends" that are such good friends that they have been rumored to have had intimate relations...which are both totally rad.

Yesterday my dad and I were supposed to see The Man Who Fell to Earth at our local independent/art movie theater. I was actually very much looking forward to it because my dad and I are really into Bowie. But then my dad (who has seen the movie before) told me that there are a lot of semi-inapropriate material in the movie. Because of that material, we decided against going to the movie together. I mean, I have no problem watching David Bowie in gay sex scenes, but they're not the nicest thing for a father and daughter to watch together. Later on in the night, we felt bad about not going and decided that we would buy it from Amazon because we figured that if we could sit through Brüno together - a movie with free flying penises every five minutes - we could watch this one together.

I also decided it would be important to let you guys know about a fantastic band that I got really into this week. They're called Local Natives and I somehow had their song "Airplanes" on my iTunes and decided to download their entire album - which is such a great album guys, seriously cannot recommend it enough.

Also, Lana Del Rey kicks ass, and so do her videos -

I 've also found myself to be much more dependent on coffee than any 16-year-old should be. I actually found my dependency to become an issue over the summer when I would get a headache in the afternoon if I didn't have a cappuccino in the morning... ANYWHO. I haven't gotten over my growing addiction and my mother has been so kind this week as to drive me to school and pick up Starbucks on the way which has been lovely. But it got me thinking that Starbucks should deliver. I mean especially with rehearsals after school when I can't leave the school, it'd be incredibly convenient. Oh, and what would also make it better is if there wasn't a goddamn $20 minimum on your order to get it delivered. Just a thought...

straightened out

2011-10-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

hokay, sew.

I tried the Bumble and Bumble samples of their new "Straight" line and I'm pretty happy with the results.

I, however, can't lie to you guys when I say that I used waaaayayyahayhayhayyy too much of the creme product in my hair. It made it very soft and somewhat faster to blow-dry. But because of the copious amount that I used, my hair looked a tad greasy from the get-go. Also, I watched the "how-to" videos on their website and it said to use the creme from root to tip, which is exactly what I did. Howeva I've come to find out that you should never ever ever ever do that. Even when a product says to. Just don't. Never add product to your roots, it's so unnecessary. All it does is make your hair look greasy (and this is coming from someone with super dry hair). Your roots produce natural oils anyway so there is no point in adding product there. When you put crap in your hair, stick to the ends.

Anywho, deze r da rezultz.

b4:

aftur:

I'm in the midst of trying the products out again tonight. This time, with less...

this week

2011-10-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

This week has been a long one in terms of school and Hamlet rehearsals. I've also been completely avoiding something and I'm pretty fucking great at it to be honest. I've decided that I'm finished with waiting for something that will probably never happen. I've come to the conclusion that I need to distance myself from this thing in order for me to get over it which means absolutely no interaction whatsoever. It's going to be really shitty and really hard but it needs to be done. So, every single morning on the bus ride to school - which is actually my favorite part of my days because it's the nicest thing to listen to music and be driven around my town while the sun comes up - I've been listening to Beyoncé and Lupe Fiasco.

Before I straightened my hair on Monday night I remembered how Rachel had emphatically urged me to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind over the summer so I rented it on my laptop and watched it and shat my pants in awe of this fucking spectacular movie. I adored Kate Winslet's character Clementine. I mean, I already adore Kate Winslet in general but her character was fantastic in this movie. Her freaking hair and clothes and personality was just ldfjkhgdslkjghdfslgkjhglsdkjhgsl.

Basically all week my American Lit class had been analyzing Emily Dickinson poetry, as well as last week. Not only have we been analyzing her poetry, we have been absolutely tearing this shit apart until it means nothing. That's a lie, not until "it means nothing" but we just go very very deep into our analyzations. And in prior years, I've loved poetry units in English but I hate it when we have to analyze them because everyone will have a different perception of the poem and the teachers always have to shoot down a lot of really great ideas because they feel that the poem is only supposed to mean one certain thing. Which I feel is such bullshit because the whole point of poetry and art in general is for people to interpret it in their own way and to tell them that the way they interpreted it is wrong is fucked up. ANWAY my Am Lit class teacher doesn't do that at all, which is fantastic. He's incredibly laid backs and takes anybody's idea and is like "yeah, cool, that's really interesting. I can see how you thought of that." This week the Dickinson poem that stood out to me was the one that started with "Because I could not stop for Death..." - it's a really great poem and I had never been a Dickinson fan before, but this week of study has converted me.

Eléonore Hendricks is one of my favorite photographers. I feel like she is so great at capturing everyday moments and people that we constantly overlook and never really fully appreciate. This week I'm feeling particularly inspired by her okinawa, okinawa photos.

I also came across BULLETT magazine this week in Barnes n' Noble and it kicks so much ass. I bought their Cosmic issue with Ewan McGreggor on the front and Christina Ricci on the back. Here's part of the editor Idil Tabanca's opening message, you'll understand.

"By asking ourselves ... absurd yet utterly constructive questions ... we aim to foster a game-changing attitude that will affect exactly that: change. We aspire to disseminate the fertile energy that motivates us to declare our cosmos as the proposed limit rather than mere sky."

it ends with:

"Come and think unalike with us."

love.

Last weekend I, like a jackass, decided to cut my ends because they were beyond dead and starting to straighten out, which is awkward. So I cut a few and then I washed my hair and let it dry and then realized how fucking short I cut my hair. My hair hasn't been this short in a while and I personally think I look terrible so I have been straightening my hair all week. It's a huge relief to have straight hair to be honest. I have naturally very curly hair. It's cork-screwy and ringlet-y but the curls that frame my face are much more tighter and kinkier - which I find incredibly unflattering. Because I cut my hair, it's now lighter which means that my hair kinks up even more which is bad. I love curly hair, but really tight curls don't look good on me at all. When your hair is straight, you never have to worry about it. It just always falls in place. Whereas with my curly hair, every single day is an unpredictable hair day and the weather outside plays an even bigger role in how my hair looks during the day.

Melissa, who has worked for Bumble and Bumble for years, came over to pay us a visit today and brought us goodies! She brought me samples of their brand new "Straight" product line which is so great considering my current dilemma with my natural coils, "Spray de Mode" (perf whilst straightening or après) and their semi-new "Texture" creme. Today I took a break from the blow-dryer and the 2" curling iron (mom and Lauren broke my CHI iron two years ago but the curling iron works just fine) and wore my hair curly today. The only product that I tried today was the "Texture" creme and I luhhhhhhhhhhh the way it made my hair messy. When it grows out I am gonna be all over dat. I'll probably straighten my hair on Monday seeing as I have rehearsal tomorrow and will most likely be way too lazy to even bathe myself nonetheless do my hurr. But I will hopefully remember to update you guyz (because I know you definitely care about my hair as much as I do) on the "Straight" product results.

put your paws up

2011-10-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

ShowStudio has released four of the interlude films made by Nick Knight, Ruth Hogben and Lady Gaga for Gaga's 2009-2011 Monsterball Tour. The films include "City", "Paws Up", "Manifesto of Little Monsters", and "Poker Face." Matthew Williams also contributed to the films (personally, I feel that he and Gaga artistically molded so incredibly well and I wish that he was still apart of the Haus of Gaga today... I miss him and the ideas that they came up with...).

Being a 2x Monsterball attendee (fuck yeah for being caller 100 on Z100 two timez) the films looked ridiculous (good ridiculous) on the screens, but they look even better from my laptop. Also, a film that wasn't included in the "Monsterball" folder on ShowStudio (they released it about a year ago) was the vomit interlude which is fucking insane, especially when Matt Williams completely remolds Gaga in the end.

Check dem out.

keepin' it classy

2011-10-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

Coach has recently revealed their limited edition revival collection of bags called Coach Classics. The line includes five of the company's most iconic designs by Bonnie Cashin in the 70's.

I swear to God, this collection will never get old.

pew pew pew

2011-09-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Gareth Pugh. Forever kicking everyone's asses.

lady-like

2011-09-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

She's only fourteen-years-old and she dresses impeccably. Obviously not insinuating that fourteen-year-olds can't dress themselves, but in a generation where all I see everyday is tits, asses, and midriffs, Chloë Moretz is a breath of fresh air. She's been in movies like Kick Ass and (500) Days of Summer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt's adorable and hilarious younger sister!). Favorite designers include Christopher Kane, Chanel, and Dior - much more polished than the Miley Cyrus-esque girls we see walking around today.

Summed up: She restores my faith in this generation's ability to dress themselves.

"I just wear what I like and try to stay true to myself. If you wear who you are, then you can't go wrong." - Chloë Moretz

eye candy: Swarovski x Jason Wu

2011-09-13T17:30:00.001-07:00

photo et video de: dazed and confused / dazed digital

half breed

2011-09-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

I've probably definitely made this clear online before (lolol hey twitter) but when I was eight I had an unnatural obsession with Cher.

Here's what had happened: right before I turned eight, I was coming up with a list of items that I wanted for my birthday (as I normally did 2x a year - Christmas, too). And because I would normally not have the slightest idea of what I wanted, I would sit with a piece of paper and a pencil in front of the TV watching Nickelodeon for the commercials. If a commercial appealed to me, I would write it on the list of things I wanted for my birthday. It just so happens that Nickelodeon (for whatever reason) decided to play a The Very Best of Cher CD commercial with "Believe" playing in the background. If you don't know what song I'm talking about, you definitely fucking do:

Anywho, I recognized the song and decided that I wanted the album and received it for my birthday. I was absolutely ecstatic and couldn't stop listening to that one song on the entire album (a time when you had to buy and entire album just to listen to one song...).

What I find even more amusing is that her plastic surgery was completely successful in my eight-year-old eyes as I legitimately thought she was thirty five...

Come to find out she was 57 and my heart was broken. She is literally the age of my grandmother.

Then I turned nine and got over her (mainly for being teased about her in school :c. ) But she still to this day inspires me incredibly with her ability to kick ass and stay relevant after 50 years in the business. My favorite "era" of Cher was the 60's when she just came out with Sonny Bono and in the 70's when she was with Gregg Allman. The absolute mod in the 60's to the dramatic change into a bohemian goddess is everything to me.

60's:

70's:

Aaaaaaand the night I completely pissed my pants in happiness:

Also, I'm going to add that Moonstruck is probably one of the best movies ever made ever.

sweetie, darling...

2011-09-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

Having an English father that moved to America 16 years ago has meant that throughout my life, my dad has gone out of his way to remind me that I am, in fact, half British and therefore should honor, or at the very least - be a teeny bit proud of my roots. Whether it's by the English candies he finds at Fairway, the supply of Little Britain DVDs we own, or the constant reminders that strawberry is pronounced "stroh-burry", raspberry is "rahs-burry", and aluminum is apparently "a-loo-MIN-yum", my dad has always made an effort to introduce some form of British lifestyle in our home. (I'm told that when I was two, I would pronounce battery the "right" way - "batree" as opposed to "battERy" but that moment of glory was short-lived.)

wee little me &; muh dad ~ :*

Now, before I left for Mallorca this summer, my family and I were channel surfing one night before bed. I was flipping up and passed Logo (the LGBT channel). My dad then excitedly told me to "hurry up and change it back" much to my surprise. I was expecting some show like Ru Paul's Drag Race to be on (which i would be totally down to watch whenever - it just doesn't necessarily strike me as a show that my dad would insist on watching with the fam...). However, it was not Ru Paul's Drag Race, it was Absolutely Fabulous, and it. was. brilliant.

Connecting this to my previous mention of English culture, Absolutely Fabulous is an English sitcom that few people here know about. It was created by Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French (by the way - this show led me to find French and Saunders on YouTube - never laughed so hard in ma lyf). Jennifer Saunders (I just don't feel right properly referring to her in the rest of this post as "Saunders"... I don't know. I'd go for just "Jennifer" or "Jenny"...? too informal?) is also the writer of the show and stars as the main character Edina.

Jennifer Saunders et Dawn French as Madge Padge.

I don't want to go into too much detail about the show because this isn't an essay about what I think is the greatest show in the entire world and I'm not even sure most of you would even read it. ANYWHO. Edina (mainly called "Eddy") is a two-time divorcée, successful PR agent with a "bitch troll from hell" daughter that is the parent figure in the show. Her bestest friend ever is Patsy (who's played by actress and former Bond girl, Joanna Lumley) - she's a magazine editor (thanks to sleeping with the publisher.....wut?) and a pill-popping drunkard who hasn't eaten since 1974 and bounces her age between 39 and 43. Basically er'thang I want to be when I'm old.

She is everything.

Put Eddy and Patsy togeths and you have two successful, middle-aged, stylishly challenged (welllllll, mostly Eddy..), eternally drunk and/or under the influence of some substance, fabulous and completely fucked up women.

It's absolute perfection.

The season ended a few years ago BUT they're filming three more episodes to be aired in 2012 (hallelujah!!).

euphrasie

2011-09-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

I spotted her flipping through the pages of my Stylelikeu book and found her to be so naturally stunning. Did some research and learned that Euphrasie Villalard (kick ass name, right?) is actually a model. The 21-year-old French belle was initially signed with Premier in London two weeks before her first show with Ashish in 2009 which she found to be more exciting than nerve-racking. She moved onto New York Models Management and is now signed with Swedish agency Visage.

I haven't seen as much of her around as I would like to, but I find her incredibly endearing. During her interview with Stylelikeu the dark blonde, green-eyed beauty revealed that she has a collection of empty Ben & Jerrys cartons that she's eaten in the past. She also plans on starting a handbag line made of old jeans.

Side note: she shops at Monk in Brooklyn. (I adore her style so I thought it was only fitting to include that nugget of info...)

Gorgeous video by Anna Wolf for Untitled Magazine. Enjoy!

photos: thefashionspot.com forums, stylelikeu.com

ugh

2011-09-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

It was two days ago and I was probably too upset and too busy trying to thoroughly clean my room as a means to make me feel better than blog about it at that time.

OKAY. SO. The day before two days ago, so, three days ago, it was an extremely rare occasion that my dad actually agreed to let my sister and I get a few clothes before school started. So I get super excited and we head out to a mall 40 minutes away from us for the American Apparel and Anthropologie stores pour moi and the Delia's for my little sister, Nina.

The minute we get there Nina starts going into random stores and picking out things left, right and center which will obviously look great on her because she's skinny as fuck so there's no need to try them on. Then my mom and her go into the Nike Running store to look at sneakers, and I, like the fatty I am, told them that I would meet them in American Apparel instead of perusing the types of running sneakers and cleats.

Much to my surprise and dismay, the American Apparel store in this mall had completely changed the layout in the shop which immediately confused me. The women working that day were too consumed in themselves to be helping me or other customers and were playing some godawful Trina album that made me want to leave the store ASAP.

A lot of the time, I find that when you don't go clothes shopping and happen to be in a clothing store, that's when they have all of the best items that appeal to you - when you can't buy them. But when you have the objective of buying clothes is when all of the crap items in your favorite stores come out. I left American Apparel with a unisex circle scarf.

this, but grey. God forbid I stand out in a crowd...

We then head into Anthropologie and I immediately remember why I so rarely shop there; the prices. Granted, the clothes aren't that expensive, but there's a snowball's chance in hell that my parents would spend $160+ on an average everyday school dress for me.

The day was a failure and the school clothes that I got was a scarf. yey....

However my mom told me that we can try Urban Outfitters and LF the next day.

So now we're back at two days ago and we start and Urban. I find a ton of stuff to try on, try it all on, take it all off, put it all back. Everything looks awful. I'm discouraged but keep looking and find myself being much more picky about what I should get, looking at everything I see and finding an excuse as to why it wouldn't look good on me. I leave the store with items that end up covering my body instead of flattering it; a black cardigan and a black blazer.

It was the only sale of the season at LF and it was also a failure. I got a pair of earrings that would've been $20 for maybe $12.

I guess I was visibly upset because my mom kept encouraging me to go into other stores just to see that they had. We went into Madewell, my mom made me try on a dress and a sweater that I felt I looked terrible in. I nearly had a breakdown in that dressing room. We left with nothing.

All I wanted to do was go home, but my mom pushed me to go into Lucky Brand Jeans. We met this incredibly friendly gay guy that was more than helpful in starting a dressing room and helping pick out shirts and jeans. I must've tried on 8+ shirts on and they all managed to make me look frumpy, so I left with a pair of jeans...

And that was my day.... I came home so upset that I cleaned my room.

I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky...

2011-08-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

I really love the fact that pastel and colorful hair is becoming trendy again. Unfortunately, my hair is incredibly curly and ringlet-y so I don't personally think that any daring or fun colors would look decent with my type of hair. But I do love watching others rock it while I sit back with my brown hair in envy.

Here are some inspirational photos of Charlotte Free, Lady Gaga, Dree Hemingway and people of the like. Enjoy!

...and Gaga, who has done more colors and combinations than one could ever dream of.

Photos: tumblr.com, weheartit.com, vogue.co.uk, teenvogue.com, google images, swide.com, the-fame.org

emma, love...

2011-08-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

This might sound corny, but I absolutely adore seeing candid pictures of Emma Roberts in magazines/online. She's the former tween star of Nickelodeon's Unfabulous. Now, at twenty, she's taking the fashion world and Hollywood by storm with recent movies like It's Kind of a Funny Story and The Art of Getting By. She cites inspiration from people like Audrey Hepburn and Sienna Miller. She also hopes to do a clothing line collaboration (similar to what the Olsen twins did) in the near future.

Her red carpet style is also impeccable, but I personally find her street style more inspirational. Her style is simple and classy while still managing to look fresh, young, and age appropriate.

I've completely turned to her for inspiration this Fall.

Photos: teenidols4you.com, elle.com

mons†er

2011-08-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

I feel like now would be the most appropriate time, if any, to make my love for Lady Gaga known. For the past year or so, I've been incredibly inspired by her Fame Monster era. The songs from the album are so raw and real and the fashion ensembles from that time period (and a few from her present Born This Way era) are so intense and dark. Fashion-wise, I feel like she started dressing that way while she was writing The Fame Monster during The Fame Ball Tour. So, many of these photos are from before the album was released. The amount of leather, lace, fishnets, chains, studs, and sex-shop pieces absolutely slay me.

ps. The Nobuyoshi Araki and OUT magazine photo shoots are incredible.

Photos: the-fame.org

Highly Recommended: "Stylelikeu"

2011-07-25T10:07:00.001-07:00

After receiving this book as a birthday present last month, I've finally found the time to meticulously examine the pages in this book. I can happily report that it has opened my eyes and now serves as constant inspiration to my day-to-day life.

Let me start off by stating that is book has it all - clothes, accessories, shoes, hair, makeup, even tattoos; you name it, it's in here.

The book is over 200 pages of an abundance of photographs of personal style and inspirational quotes. The photos are taken effortlessly and do an incredible job at emphasizing each person's very distinct style. What's also great about the photographs is that they're taken in each person's home - which offers insight on the kind of environment they thrive in.

Something that I find important about this book is that it does not discriminate against age, race, gender, sexuality, size, anything! It is a great reminder of how personal style is an individual way of life for anyone that is something to be celebrated and originally expressed.

What's made my day is that I've just found out that there is a frequently updated "Stylelikeu" website. Score!!

Check it out here

Coachella Style 2011

2011-04-20T16:52:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I'm getting very tired of people wearing a crop top and short shorts to festivals; it just seems to be the go-to outfit. And I understand, it's hot and that combination is easy and laid back, but to me, it's getting old.

Luckily, the fashion at this year's Coachella Arts + Music Festival brought out some of the best of Spring 2011 festival/street style. There were a ton of beautiful bohemian patterned dresses, lots of color, and a surprising number of rompers, jumpsuits, and harem pants.

Because I couldn't go this year, I've scouted the internet for some of my favorite looks from the festival. Check 'em out below!

^She is the only exception to my opinion about crop tops and short shorts. Her tank top is adorable (the pattern!!) and I would steal her belt.

Photo Credit:

HarpersBazaar.com
Vogue.com
Refinery29.com

Bill Cunningham "New York"

2011-03-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

This documentary is about New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. For those of you who don't know, he's been in the industry for about 40 or so years and photographs the fashion-savvy people of New York on a daily basis for the “On the Street” and “Evening Hours" sections of the Times.

What I love about this man, besides the fact that he has fundamentally created Street Style, is that his articles include a vast range of people from the uptown fashion elites to the downtown everyday people. He understands that fashion isn't just what designers give us on a seasonal basis and what magazines give us on a monthly basis, it's what the average person does with their outfits on a daily basis.

I've just found out that the film is going to be showing at my local independent movie theater for one night only in the near future, which excites me beyond belief. I really hope that I'm able to secure a ticket ahead of time!

Anywho, here's the trailer! Enjoy:

credit to YouTube for the trailer

Impromptu School Style

2011-03-17T19:25:00.001-07:00

...with Rachel. I saw her this morning and thought that she looked absolutely adorable! This is the first I've seen khaki skinnies, and I think they look great on her. The color scheme of the khaki-colored pants and navy blue slouch top work fantastically.

I'd also like to apologize for my godawful iPhone photography skills.

Pants: TopShop

Top: Forever 21

New!

2011-03-13T19:22:00.001-07:00

BDG shirt and Staring at Stars circle scarf from Urban Outfitters.

I love them both + the Aztec-like print on the scarf is so lovely.

I'm planning on wearing both sometime this week, so I'll post what they look like.

Personal Style

2011-03-11T18:55:00.001-08:00

This is my dear friend, Rachel. She's recently gone on a shopping spree at TopShop and has picked out some lovely pieces.

Needless to say, I'm extremely jealous.

ELIE SAAB

2011-03-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

I actually want to buy every single ensemble and wear everything at the same time. Just layer it all on me.

That would make me very happy.

Photo Credit: http:wwd.com

STYLIST: Anastasia Barbieri

2011-03-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

She's incredible at what she does.

To put it plainly, my life would be complete if she had a blog. But I guess I'll just have to find other means of the internet to stalk her.

Here are some photoshoots/editorials/ads she has styled.

Photo Credit: Models.com

Still head-over-heels for Lanvin's Spring 2011.

2011-03-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

Especially their harnesses (shown above). Every time I look at the pictures, I just fall deeper in love with the collection.

MIU MIU

2011-03-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

Besides the awkward baseball caps that I chose not to post (you can look them up on your own), this collection is pretty great. I love the super exaggerated shoulders and I think Miu Miu has some of the best prints out there.

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

2011-03-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite designers of all time.

Sarah Burton is incredible. She has once again, completely outdone herself. I really think she is doing so well by McQueen. So so talented.

This collection is phenomenal.

Photo credit: http://wwd.com

CHANEL

2011-03-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Chanel, I feel, will never need an opinion by me.
I feel like it's one of those brands that just somehow always delivers, for me at least. Of course there are going to be those one or two ensembles that I'm iffy about, but nearly every single collection has those.

Needless to say, I love this collection. I'm completely crazy about this edginess that has come to Chanel. I think Karl Lagerfeld did a brilliant job in keeping classy and punk/grungy while maintaining a few main pieces that Chanel is known for.

It's being described as a "post-apocalyptic fallout wreaked upon the gorgeously surrealistic gray garden of rocks he planted for spring."

Sounds good to me.

Images are from http://vogue.com

Up and Coming: Paula Cheng

2011-03-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

She's a graduating student from Parsons and her work is fantastic! I love her vision; it seems eclectic to me.

I just think that it's very interesting from her knits to her silky chiffon-like dresses and that one incredible cardboard dress.

I love it! I can't wait to see more of her in the future.

You can check more of her out at http://paulacheng.carbonmade.com/.

Issey Miyake

2011-03-06T16:06:00.001-08:00

Some Inspiration from Fred Butler

2011-03-06T15:37:00.001-08:00

I can look at his work forever.

A few favorites from Junya Watanabe

2011-03-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

I always appreciate some black-on-black. The combination of all of that leather and all of that fur is killing me. I also love the way he made the leather jackets so feminine! Clever, clever, clever..