A little touch-up

I rarely wear makeup but I find this tutorial from the 1940's more informative than most articles I've ever read in the beauty section of magazines. I like how it can be applied to anyone wanting to look more polished as it is a look that suits everyone. Moreover, now I understand how to use those tiny 'rouge' brushes (let's say it took me a long time)!

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Je ne porte du maquillage que rarement mais je trouve ce cours des années 1940 plus informatif que la plupart des articles que j'ai jamais lus dans la section beauté des magazines. J'aime comme il s'applique à n'importe qui veuillant avoir un air plus soigné comme c'est un look qui va bien à toutes. De plus, maintenant je comprends comment utiliser ces minuscules pinceaux à fard (disons que ça m'a pris du temps)!

And a second one just because it's fun.

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Et un deuxième juste parce qu'il est amusant.

List update

I'm quite proud of myself: it has been over a week since I made my list and I have been good at sticking to it so far. Here are the items I have been able to tick off:

Clothing (sheer luck was on my side!):
-perfect beaded cardigan;
-lavender wool cardigan.

I got those two items with the store credit I had at my beloved Local 23 (it is a really friendly place hence the word 'beloved'!/they have a store credit in exchange for old clothing system). I mention this to give myself an excuse as I actually have no business spending on myself...

Life:
-I have visited the Otto Dix exhibition at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal; if you are in town, I highly recommend it. I will give it a proper post of its own in a short time!

Now, back to my essays!

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Je suis plutôt fière de moi: ça fait un peu plus d'une semaine que j'ai écrit ma liste et jusqu'ici, j'ai réussi à m'en tenir aux éléments qu'elle contient. Voici les éléments que j'ai pu barrer:

Vêtements (la chance était de mon côté!):
-parfait cardigan perlé;
-cardigan lavande en laine.

Je me suis procuré ces deux pièces grâce au crédit que j'avais à mon Local 23 adoré (c'est un endroit très chaleureux d'où le mot 'adoré'!/ils ont un système d'échange de vieux vêtements contre un crédit en magasin). Je mentionne ceci pour me donner un excuse comme je n'ai vraiment pas affaire à m'acheter quoi que ce soit...

Vie:
-J'ai visité l'exposition Otto Dix au Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal; si vous êtes en ville, je vous la recommande fortement. Je lui donnerai son propre billet, quelque chose de plus convenable, dans peu de temps!

Maintenant, de retour à mes dissertations!

Photo: ?

Radio Days

I recently discovered an online radio station that only plays music from the 1920's to the 1940's, day and night. How fantastic is that? The 1920's Radio Network broadcasts from Chesapeake, Virginia (and according to their website, their studio is deep in the woods!). Just a technical tip before you tune in: go to the middle of the page and select from the available streams, the main link did not work for me (but maybe it will for you).

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J'ai récemment découvert une station de radio en ligne qui ne joue que de la musique des années 1920 aux années 1940, jour et nuit. Fantastique, non? The 1920's Radio Network est diffusée à partir de Chesapeake, Virginie (et selon leur site, leur studio est au fond des bois!). Juste un conseil technique avant que vous ne vous branchiez: allez au milieu de la page et sélectionnez l'une des diffusions offertes, le lien majeur ne fonctionne pas de mon côté (mais peut-être qu'il fonctionnera du vôtre).

A little cold

Ready for a little winter-related rambling?
Every year, around the middle of November, my perception of almost everything changes. I feel an urge to look more feminine, to reinvent myself in a certain way, to experiment new situations, to jump on occasions to see and discover more. Often, this ends up being only theoretical as I think a lot about those things, but do not achieve them. This time, I would like things to be different. I'm already seeing elements in my life I would like to change, and in order to make things feasable, I believe lists are in order.

Clothing-wise, I am often tempted by many things during the winter and often end up spending on everything but what I really want and would wear very much. This year, I intend to keep to the following (a bit shallow, yes...) list as I don't really need anything:
a)to find a nice, warm, subtly coloured cardigan, preferably like the pale purple one above;
b)to stop getting tempted by all those pretty shiny things and find myself the perfect vintage beaded cardigan I've been thinking about for a few years;
c)to find a used fur or a soft faux-fur jacket (I passed on one, last year, regretted it and kept seeing the lucky girl who bought it every few days - we didn't even know each other);
d)to find a colourful a-line skirt (yes, a lot of colour in this list!);
e)to use scarves to keep my ears warm like the lovely girl in the last picture!
f)to get an extra pair of wool tights.

Life-wise, I would like to...
a)get back to producing more collages, jewellery, and maybe developing my own photos;
b)get better at actually going out of the house, yes, even if it's cold, and stop missing exhibitions and movies, reasoning with myself with seasonal excuses;
c)get better at waking up early and be punctual to my morning classes;
d)start baking cakes, cookies and to learn how to make pies: I still haven't used the full potential of finally having a working oven in my apartment!

Finally, remain cheerful and happy, and remember that that's the most important, no matter what's on the lists!

How about you? What are your seasonal resolutions? Do you make such lists?

Photos: 1 (Gordon Parks), 2?, 3 (James D. Kelly), 4?, 5, 6?.

10 to 10

Why, hello there! That was quite a long absence, but necessary for me to finish my pile of mid-term papers (I'm especially thanking my professors who required two essays for one class...). In the meantime, I have received the "I love your blog" prize from Claire, which is truly an honour especially coming from someone whose blog is amongst my favourites. So here are my answers...

1. Why did you create the blog?

When I started writing this blog, I was finishing my first semester at university, and it was my first time going to school in English. I had more or less proved to myself, through my essays, that my writing was presentable enough to be shown to other people and I finally set up to open the blog I had been thinking about for a while. My goal was to create a blog I would enjoy reading myself, only posting when I had something of interest to present. Another thing is that blogging allows me to share some thoughts and talk about subjects I wouldn't be able to touch with most of my friends, especially when it comes to clothing and fashion.


2. What kind of blogs do you follow?

I mainly follow blogs written by people who let their personality show through their words. I do like photos and images (a lot!), but I also like being told about discoveries and stories. I think it is the conversational aspect of blogs that often attract me. The first blog I followed was Ringo, Have a Banana! and it still is amongst my favourites.


3. Favourite makeup brand?

I really like makeup although my approach to it is quite minimal. From rummaging through my 'beauty box' I came to the conclusion that most of the beauty products I frequently use are from Clinique (I wear the powder foundation and the black honey sheer lipstick almost everyday), but I also like MAC for their eyeshadows (especially in satin taupe and graphology, the latter as eyeliner) and NARS for the infamous velvet matte lip pencil.

4. Favourite clothing brand?

Most of the clothing I buy is vintage or second-hand, but I realized that the brand that comes up the most often is, surprisingly, Gap! And most of what I own from there is from the shirt variety and second-hand, go figure! But if I had a job, the new clothing I would buy would mainly be APC, their collections really appeal to my taste.

5. Your indispensable makeup product?

I have two: Dr. Haushka's Normalizing Day Oil and Burt's Bees Pomegranate lip balm. The oil drastically changed my skin. It originally was dry and prone to acne and is now comfortable and presentable without makeup.

6. Your favourite colour?

Burgundy/Maroon.

7. Your perfume?

The only perfume I currently own is Kiehl's Essential Oil in Grapefruit. Two perfumes I would consider wearing (I am yet to make my decision) are Dior's Diorissimo (my mother's perfume, it smells like lily-of-the-valley) or Diptyque's Olène as it smells of jasmine. I do like perfumes that have a natural, recognizable, subtle scent.

8. Your favourite movie?

That's too difficult! I'll say Sunset Boulevard because I like everything that's nostalgic and old Hollywood, but if you ask me tomorrow I'd probably say something else, ha!

9. What county would you like to visit and why?

It's not very 'exotic', but I would really like to visit England. It started with my fascination for the Queen when I was 3 and has never left me even though I don't have much interest in the royal family anymore (ok, ok, it's an off and on guilty pleasure!). Other than that, I'd be very interested in visiting Russia as I find it's a country that has a very intriguing history and architecture.

10. Make the last question and answer to yourself: Camille, why do you keep talking about getting a cat, stalking your neighbours' cats, but not getting a cat yourself, you cat-lady?

Ok, ok, I will!

And I am sending my love to:

Indian Summer Vintage

My Favorite Color Is Shiny

Ringo, Have a Banana!

An Apple A Day

A Clock Without Hands

Capture the Castle

Discotheque Confusion

bbNY

The Vamoose

Are You Awake?