Fall is coming, right?

Given that it's mid-September, one would assume fall is underway, or perhaps at least on the way.  Though the weather of late has been super steamy -- it was ninety today in Chicago -- the cooler weather always comes eventually (I'm going to remind myself of this post when it's twenty below and I'm tramping through a foot of snow in February).  Two picks for faces and fingers once we finally get some more fall-like conditions:

Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color in Crimson (tremendously scary in tube; gorgeous on actual lips).

Essie nail polish in Twin Sweater Set -- a pretty, deep, not-overly-dramatic red.

I'm sort of over my summer stuff.  You?

Happy 2013!

Well, despite my good intentions, Christmas really got the best of me this year (and yes, I did end up " frantically ordering things on December 23 whilst wrapping into the wee hours of the morning like a crazy woman").  But hey, didn't we all?  And with 2013 upon us, the slate is clean, right?

Or not.  :)  In any event, while my absence might seem like evidence to the contrary, I've missed you all, and I have appreciated your "when are you coming back?" questions -- it makes me feel loved!  So here I am, and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that there is lots of happiness in store for you in 2013.  Thank you so much for coming back to visit.  To break my blackout and get your 2013 started right, I thought I'd share a few things that I've been enjoying or discovering over the last month.  

Cards Against Humanity, which aptly describes itself as "a free party game for horrible people."  I played this at our friends' New Year's party, and it is hilarious.  You'll cry with laughter (and shame).  You can buy a set of the cards for $25, or print your own at home for free!  (Interesting tidbit: it started on Kickstarter.)

I made a few batches of Rosemary French 75s, which taste delicious and look fancy and festive.  The recipe: put a sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne coupe.  Put 2 ounces of gin, the juice of a lemon, and 1 teaspoon of this rosemary syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake (I don't have a cocktail shaker, so I just use a cup of ice and stir it with a spoon).  Pour into the coupe, fill up the rest of the glass with prosecco, and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.  Enjoy!

I read about this Kiehl's Avocado Eye Cream here, here, and here, and decided it was the universe leading me to a solution to Chicago Winter Face.  It feels like glue, which in this case is a good thing.

I signed up for For the Makers, a monthly service that's like Birchbox for crafts!  The prior boxes look like they had lots of goodies in them (like this pouch you can make to fit your phone, cash, and cards).  I am overly pumped to get my pseudo-Martha on.

And finally, a little tip that really seems to work: to improve your posture (something I am always working on and pretty much always failing at), turn your palms up.  That's it.  It really does make your hold your shoulders back, like you're supposed to!

Have you stumbled on any great stuff in the last month?  Recipes, ticks, trips, products, tunes?  Do share.

(Top illustration by Emily McDowell Illustration; French 75 photo by Tall and Salty; Kiehl's photo by Christine; photograph of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly by Allan Grant for Life Magazine.)

Summer polish MVPs

Fall looks are popping up everywhere, even though it's not even August yet.  Hold your horses, everyone!  I love "back to school" clothes more than anyone, but let's just relax and enjoy the rest of the summer, shall we?  There will be plenty of time for boots, blazers, and dark nail polish come fall, I promise.  

Until then, I keep going back to these bright, fun, summery colors:  

Essie Mint Candy Apple layered under Essie Absolutely Shore (long story on how that came to be, but just take my word for it: it produces a fantastic not-too-green but not-too-blue color) for fingers, and Essie Geranium for toes, a perfect orangey-red.

What are your summer color MVPs?  Essie's Borrowed and Blue has been a big hit with my ladyfriends.

Vanities

When I was a little girl, I would spend hours -- hours -- sitting at my grandmother's vanity table.  It was gold, with metal legs that formed in curlicues, and had a matching little seat with a round lavender cushion on it with a button in the center.  She also had one of those light-up mirrors that you could adjust to mimic different kinds of lighting.  (Obviously imperative to know how an eight-year-old's complexion would look in an "office" setting.)  And this was all independent of the dozens upon dozens of bottles, brushes, compacts, palettes, and other grown-up-lady-stuff that I had gleeful free reign over.  It was divine.  There was no place I'd rather have been than smearing red lipstick all over my face, unless, of course, it was playing with the shoes and bags in her closet. 

Wouldn't it be lovely to have a little space to sit and do your hair and makeup?  (Maybe this would help me have a better outlook on the whole process!)  My sister-in-law is moving soon, and I've been looking at lots of pictures with her for decorating ideas.  My number one suggestion: make room for a desk-sized nightstand in the bedroom!

In my vanity-playing-days, I just assumed that I too would someday have my own, but alas, my bedroom is too small for such a luxury.  And, let's face it, 90% of my makeup applying takes place in the car. 

That hasn't stopped me from collecting ideas, though. 

And someday, Scarlett-O'Hara-God-as-my-witness-style, I'm going to have one.  And it's going to have a fancy mirror, a dainty little chair, and a little bottle of Chanel No. 5, my grandma's perfume, just like she had.

How about you?  Do you have a handly little spot like one of these to get ready?  

(Images from Martha Stewart, i suwannee, Good Bones Great Pieces via Little Green Notebook, House Beautiful via Apartment Therapy, Sunset Magazine via Apartment Therapy,  Country Home via Apartment Therapy.)

Funny Girls

As your Thursday lunchtime pick-me-up, enjoy this hilarious video of Leandra Medine, The Man Repeller, model Hilary Rhoda, Rebecca Minkoff, designer of beautiful handbags and other goods, and, most adorably, Rebecca Minoff's baby, getting ready for the CFDA Awards:

How funny is the dancing baby?  (You can't order him, but if you like Hilary's sweater, you can get it here.)  And here are the three lovely ladies later that night, all done up:

If only we could all get ready to go out with our ladyfriends like this.  Meaning "all together, with cocktails," but the army of professional hair and makeup folks wouldn't be too bad, either!  

I think getting ready to go out at the same time as my friends (with an appropriate pop soundtrack) is one of the things I miss most from college.  Now I have to get all done up with a boy around, and it is so not helpful!

How about you?  Do you prefer peace and quiet, or access to the "which shoes/which earrings/what lipstick?" tribunal?

(YouTube video via Rebecca Minkoff's YouTube Channel; bottom image by Jamie Beck.)

Flutter away

I made a discovery last week that is too good to keep to myself: when I was getting ready to go a black tie event, I decided to give glamorous false eyelashes a go.  I've tried once or twice before, but could never get them on myself!  I'd blink right at the crucial moment and end up with the lash strip stuck to the very tip of my eyelashes, flopping back and forth.  Not exactly the effect I was going for.

So I gave up and called in the professionals: I went to my local MAC store (for you Chicago ladies, I went to the one on Armitage, where they couldn't have been nicer) to buy some lashes, and for the princely sum of sixteen dollars, I was able to buy a set of lashes and a professional application.  Priceless!

The extremely nice makeup artist who put on my lashes even offered to put on my eye makeup for me, which I loved.  (You can also make an appointment for a full makeup application, with a guaranteed start time, for $50.  If you walk in, you're at the mercy of their timing, but it's complementary!) 

They felt a little weird at first, but I got used to them after an hour or so and I didn't notice them anymore, and I loved the way they looked.  I wanted to wear them for my wedding, but the lady who did my makeup said that they would drive me nuts and wouldn't let me have them!

Have you ever worn false eyelashes?  The MAC folks were all singing the praises of Latisse, the prescription potion that you put on your lashes to make them grow.  It made me want to use it, but I'm too afraid that it will irritate my weirdly sensitive eyes.  Have any of you tried it?

(Images of the gorgeous Adele and her fantastic fakes via Yahoo!, LV Loves, Prefix, and Vogue)