All's Fair in Love and Blogger Comments

I got an interesting comment from a poster that I don't know, a woman named Raquel who did not provide a link so I don't know really anything about her.

Here's what she posted, in response to my post on Spring makeup:

don't understand why you feel you can judge people so. focus on yourself before passing comments on other's character or appearance. you might find just how far from perfect you truly are.

If you read that post (and I do hope you did!) you'll see that her comments don't relate to that post at all. And since she gave me no specific examples of how I have unfairly judged someone, I could only assume that she's read a critical comment I may have left on another blog. 


There are a few fashion-related blogs that I follow regularly and frequently leave comments. The best of the bunch has to be Garance Dore at http://www.garancedore.fr/en. Her illustrations are lovely and lyrical, her photography is crisp and natural, from "caught-in-the-moment" portraits of friends and fashion girls to an artfully composed still life, where her understanding of proportion and light can transform a mundane lipstick or worn boot into a sculpture. Most of all, I love her writing - fun, candid and witty. Like a conversation with a girlfriend. She offers advice, but more often asks for it, gives thoughtful observations of the fashion industry and lately has revealed her charming personality through her delicious "Pardon My French" videos. If you haven't already, bookmark her site.

Garance Dore

Now, the only instances I can think of where I've criticized something on Garance's blog is when it is something regarding smoking. I've never been a smoker, feel slightly ill when I'm around smokers, and since my dear Dad died of lung cancer, I've seen firsthand the devastation that can be caused by smoking. So I'm quite vocal when it comes to images appearing in the media (particularly a media that's followed so fervently by impressionable young women and teens) that make smoking seem fashionable or cool. I can vouch that it is neither of these things. 

So yes, I am judgemental when it comes to glamourizing cigarettes.

Another blog that I just adore is Emily Weiss' Into the Gloss, focusing on the beauty industry. Emily features new product reviews, interviews with industry insiders, ranging from designers and models to magazine editors and photographers, and peeks into bathroom cabinets and dressing tables so find out the secrets of some well- and not-so-well-known beauties. She's an excellent writer, photographer and makeup artist. I first noticed Emily on The Hills (yes, I like TV programs for an audience decades younger than me!), as the ambitious intern at Teen Vogue who intimidated Whitney Port with her cool confidence and professionalism. (Frankly, I'd much rather have watched Emily make her way through "The City" than the insipid Whitney. Emily could have easily held her own with Olivia Palermo!)

Emily Weiss

Have I left snarky comments on Emily's blog? Don't think so. I may have mentioned I'm not much of a fan of piercings (beyond ears), but I think that's about it.

One of the hardest working bloggers has got to be BryanBoy. While many of his posts feature his massive and often unisex wardrobe, Bryan also regularly posts on fashion events and shows, including videos of shows. When he gets invited to a show or a special event, he covers it on his blog, with photos and his impressions of the event. He rivals his idol Anna Della Russo when it comes to fearless fashion choices, for better or worse. In fact, I'd say he surpasses her as much of what AdR wears is exactly as it appeared on the runway, whereas BryanBoy boldly dives into both sides of the closet, mixing Target flannel pjs with couture, women's wear with men's wear, color combinations rarely seen outside the land of Oz. He's got a point-of-view, he expresses it, and he often joins in the conversation among commenters to his blog.

BryanBoy

I absolutely have criticized BryanBoy, not only for smoking but for his rather callous attitude towards wearing real fur. I think furs look much better on their original owners. If you choose to wear fur, educate yourself on the cruelty of the fur industry (ironic that most women wearing big furs in NYC are carrying a spoiled tiny dog - a cousin of their coat!) I eat meat, I wear leather, and no, I don't think I'm a hypocrite. There are so many beautiful artificial furs available today, that are just as warm as the real thing, that there's really no need to sacrifice a beautiful animal to make a stylish collar.

I can't say I'm a daily follower of Leandra Medine's blog, www.manrepeller.com but  I often find her writing to be funny as hell. By her own definition, a man-repeller is someone who dresses in such offensive way as to be completely unappealing to the opposite sex. In other words, most of the fashion pack who swoon over Tilda Swinton's or Cate Blanchett's Oscar ensembles rather than J. Lo's sexybomb look. Leandra has an impressive collection of vintage and designer clothing and uses her blog to create one-of-a-kind outfits, layer by layer. 

Leandra Medine

Leandra is a 23-year old journalism major who lives with her parents on the Upper East Side, and clearly comes from a wealthy family as she has an enviable collection of designer goods for someone so young and unemployed. Since she began her blog in April 2010, Leandra now has an online store of Man Repelling clothes and accessories, collaborations with Dannijo, and has put "man repelling" on the fashion map, writing articles and contributing to discussions such as "is man-repelling a feminist statement?" Ironically, she just got engaged this past December to an angry outcry from many readers who felt she'd betrayed them. She's kind of a later-day Carrie Bradshaw, with as many misses as hits.

Sometimes Leandra's ensembles can get too costumey and I've mentioned it in my comments. But am I judging her character? No.

 When it comes to The Fashion Toast, the blog of Cali girl Rumi Neely, I'll admit that I am a bit judgemental. Rumi is whisper-thin, sometimes alarmingly so when she wears a bikini instead of the oversize shirts and dresses she favors. I saw her shooting on a nearby street during NYFW last year and was astonished to see how tall she is -- I'd always assumed she was delicate and petite. BFFs with BryanBoy, she's often attending many of the same events, yet her coverage is decidely spotty. Which leads me to question why a publicist would go to the trouble of inviting her to an event, often footing the bill, when she often just ignores it or yawns her way through it. Rumi has excellent taste, also mixing vintage with carefully curated designer pieces and she rarely misses the mark. I will say that I get tired of her "bored with life" expression, pigeon-toed stance (though she seems to be moving on from that) and constant fiddling with her long ombre'd hair. She has a gorgeous natural smile when she allows it to be captured, however more often, her head is down, she looks like a shattered doll, legs akimbo who may either cry or fall asleep. Enough with the attitude--you're living an extraordinary life -- start looking like you're enjoying it (and not just taking it for granted.)

Rumi Neely

So yes, I will take full credit for being judgemental when it comes to my perception of Rumi based on her rambling, trying too hard to be cool writing, and again, her penchant for wearing real fur. I think she has real talent as a stylist and her modeling photos from Japan were simply beautiful. Just smile more, okay?

However, I think Raquel's comment may have come as a result of reading some of my comments to Chiara Ferragni, the Italian beauty behind the wildy successful blog The Blonde Salad. Just turned 25, Chiara is tall, blonde and with a figure worthy of a professional model. She supposedly is in her fifth year of law school (five years to get through law school in Italy?) though she never seems to go to class or have time to study. Instead, she jet-sets throughout the world (New York! Dubai! Paris! Los Angeles!Thailand! - and that's just in 2012.) She's never studied fashion, merchandising or manufacturing, yet has her own line of shoes that she's "designed." She similarly "designed" a collection of lingerie (as a bra is one of the most complicated articles of clothing to make, I think her contribution to the process was more to choose from selected styles, colors and fabrics) and has joined forces with two other bloggers to "design" tee-shirts with photos from a series of luxurious vacations at Italian resorts as well as a collection of accessories for the high street brand Mango. I take issue with calling her a designer, having known too many genuine designers who study fashion and work tirelessly to create unique, original items of clothing and accessories.

Chiara Ferragni

But my biggest objection to many of Chiara's posts is the general notion of "look how lucky I am to have so many luxury goods -- most that are "gifts" -- don't you wish you were as rich and lucky and pretty as me?" There are posts where she displays literally hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of shoes without an ounce of humility. "Here is my collection of Hermes Kelly bags" was a recent Twitter post - she has three bags which she claims she buys second-hand. Do a quick check on eBay - even second-hand, a Kelly runs around $5,000. There are no fewer than a dozen Chanel bags (assume they start at $3,000). Her watch is either an Hermes, Cartier or a Rolex. She's just 25, did I mention that? Do a Google search on Chiara and surprisingly little comes up that's not about The Blonde Salad. Her grandmother was in the fashion biz, her mother's a photographer. You'll run into an occassional comment, usually in Italian, that she and her boyfriend Richi are social-climbers, that she's not very bright, or that she's an Olivia Palermo-wannabe.  Read the comments to one of her daily —or sometimes 2 or 3 times a day— posts, with very little copy beyond listing brands she's wearing in the dozen or more photos of her posing, and it's a tongue-bath of "you're so beautiful, you're so lucky, I wish I had {insert luxury item here}." Again, it's worrisome that so many young women are drawn to her all-consuming materialism. Is there any motivation to save your hard-earned dollars or heaven forbid, to invest in something more lasting than a pair of Loubitons? Almost weekly a new post is added detailing something new and expensive that she has bought (or received from one of her many endorsements.) And do brands like Rolls Royce and Club Med think that these young women who are her rabid followers have the means to buy into the brands she hawks? Mini-Cooper, maybe, but Rolls Royce? Seriously.

Style-wise, Chiara has more hits than misses, though she is young, enamoured of brand names, and can tend to over-accessorize. She doesn't always take proportion into consideration and some of her clothes simply don't fit her tall slim figure - waists or bustlines are in the wrong place, sleeves are too short, hemlines can border on obscene. But she is young and adventuresome and now is the best time to try out many styles to find one that best suits you and speaks to who you are.

But here is the point of this whole rambling post: When you start a blog whose only purpose is to showcase how you look -- like FashionToast,  the Man Repeller, The Blonde Salad and countless more -- you are putting yourself out there for the whole wide world to make a comment, good or bad, praising or condemning. You are saying, simply by creating a blog that's all about how you physically present yourself, that you think you are special and worthy of the attention of others. So when the critiques come, and they will, they are justified. So yes, I may harp on BryanBoy to stop smoking and Rumi to cheer up. And I will continue to tell Chiara to stop using her body as a notepad and layoff the visible tattoos and to stop being such a label whore. And I'm not wrong in doing so, because by the very public nature of their blog -- the subject of which is how they look -- they have created a forum for discussion.

If you only want to hear that you look wonderful, just ask your Mom. Don't start a global blog unless you're a lot thicker skinned than that new Givenchy bag dangling off your arm.

In the pink!

Despite the chilly temperatures (which are warranting ferreting under the bed to find warmer clothes that were packed away prematurely on April 15th...), I have a case of Spring fever when it comes to updating my makeup look. The tulips in the park may be long gone but it's still all about color.

My twinkle toes are now this luscious shade of cyan blue, Koliary, from the new NARS Thakoon collaboration. All of the colors in the collection are gorgeous - there's a paler blue that's quite a bit more vibrant then it appears in the bottle, a vivid violet, as well as a yellow, hot fuschia pink and a sizzling orange, very similar to past Chanel colors. Speaking of which, my only selections from the Chanel summer collection were the Holiday nail varnish and Calypso glossimer.

The multi-striped bronzer/highlighter/blusher is pretty, but I much prefer the more coral version from last summer.

On my way back from a less than satisfactory dental checkup ("your teeth look good, however you have a cracked molar and need to replace a crown. That will be $4,000.00, thank you." Talk about a good excuse to spit and rinse! Sheesh.) I did what any right minded woman might do when faced with an unexpected financial bombshell.

I went to Bergdorf's.

Even better, I went to the Tom Ford counter, where I'd never dared to venture in the past, due to the amazing colors and sky-high prices. I opted for the Sahara Haze color quad, perfect for my hazel eyes, a thickening mascara, and Sahara Pink lip gloss (inspired by the lovely Emily Weiss of the fantastic IntoTheGloss blog), but my favorite product, hands down, is the Noir Absolute For Eyes. The official description is a "gel formula (with a) blackened pigment...infused with a unique spark of blue optics that catch the light and brighten the eyes for an extremely dimensional effect." Whatever. I apply it with a Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner brush to my upper water line for great definition. I literally have like 4 spindly lashes on each lid so I need something for that extra oomph, without the heaviness of a liner above my lashline. It makes your eyes look sparkly, with a boost to the whites. It's really a wonderful product and can also be used for a long lasting smoky eye.

Of course, there's no easier way to waken up your winter-weary look than with a great lipstick or two or five. You get the idea. 

Love love love Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in the newest shade - Coral.  It's a real coral, not too pink or too orange. Beautifully flattering, sheer but still highly pigments. It's a lippie you'll keep in your pocket until the autumn leaves fly. I also love their newly enhanced Sudar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment. It not only smoothes and soothes your lips, but helps prevent those nasty little wrinkles around your mouth. I put it on before I go to bed as the last step in my skin cleaning/moisturizer regime.

Now I'm a sucker for great packaging and there are few things quite as cute as the new Lancome Rouge in Love lipsticks. The idea behind the colors is that there are selections perfect for daytime, cocktails and evening.  While they are strongly pigmented, they can be worn quite sheerly (is that a word?) - they feel very light and moist on your lips and claim 6-hours of wear. I first ordered Corail in Love, a pinky coral --well, I thought I did, but I hit the wrong key online and instead received Rose Boudoir, a rich bright pink. It was a happy accident! I really loved the color and have since ordered the Corail as well. I love a bright lip with a bronzed smoky eye for evening (thank you, cult leader Lisa Eldridge! I kneel at your perfectly varnished pedicured toes!) instead of a classic red - it just feels more youthful. And for day, a pretty pink or coral lip with glowing skin and lots of mascara looks fresh.

Okay, last of my new lippies are these marvels by Yves St. Laurent Rouge Pur Couture. These remind me of the lipstains that Chanel offered a few years ago, but they are less gloppy and don't dry out your lips or require a topcoat/sealer. Instead, apply the stain with the tear-drop shaped applicator (liner not needed) and keep your lips slightly apart for about 10 seconds while the stain dries. It will last for hours, yet it never feels dry or magic marker-like. My shades? Rouge Vintage and Corail Fauve -- are we seeing a theme here?

Another find from the divine Ms. Eldridge is Givenchy Hydra Sparkling Magic Lip & Cheek Balm. Phew! That's a mouthful! Don't be fooled by the color in the adorable little jar - when patted on your cheeks, this gives you a very natural pink or peachy "light from within" blush. You can also top off your lipstick with this for a bit more dimension. The glossy texture also gives you a bit of a sheen on your cheeks - never a bad thing. Keep this in your pocket for those 4:00 pm touchups.

Speaking of glowy skin - here are my two new favorite products. First off is the rather "expensive but worth it" Chantecaille Ultra Sun Protection SPF 50 PA+++ Anti-Glycation Primer. Wow, that's a mouthful. Who comes up with these names? (Clearly the account person.) It's chockful of goodies to protect your skin from UVA and UVB damage, as well as antioxidants and skin-soothers. Practically a treatment product. But the real news here is that it is an awesome primer. Give it a good shake to mix up the SPF cocktail then smooth it on. It has great slip and sinks into the skin immediately so whatever foundation you put over it blends beautifully. Yes, it's $85, but you'll only use a bit at a time and protecting your skin is always worth it!

Add another layer of sun protection with NARS brand new Pure Radiance Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 30 and PA+++.  The shades tend to go on a bit dark - I'm good with mixing Alaska and St. Moritz which are the second and third lightest colors. There are nine shades in all and four are medium/dark - dark. St. Moritz is also quite yellow, so I need the pink in Alaska to balance it out. The finish is smooth and radiant with more coverage than you might expect from a tinted moisturizer. I've used it with both a brush and my fingers and it really does just melt into your skin.

NARS is sampling this product, so you might want to buy a slightly deeper shade for summer and then ask for a lighter sample to mix with it. It's a great size for travel. Remember when you're looking at SPF's on products that the amount of product needed to provide that level of coverage is probably a lot more than you're using. So layering multiple products with SPF included will definitely help protect your face from sun damage. This is a great product and the tube makes it ideal for travel. I (generously) gave my friend a sample to toss in her carry-on bag for an overnight flight to Europe as it will be the perfect product to apply (with a smidge of mascara) before deplaning.

Okay - so we've got your lips and skin covered, how about those windows on the soul? An unexpected trip to Sephora uncovered a new creme shadow from Bobbi Brown that I fell in love with--Long Wear Cream Shadow in Velvet Plum.  First off, I'm a big fan of cream shadows. Yes, the older formulas lasted about a minute before creasing like mad. When applied over a primer (or even alone), these cream shadows stay flexible for a minute or so then set to a bullet-proof finish. They're smudge-proof and come the hot and humid days of summer, they are melt-proof. This velvet plum shade is a bronzy eggplant that adds definition when applied in a sheer layer but can be built up for a more dramatic effect. I love it with my Tom Ford liner (above) on the waterline and some extra definition with either MAC's Teddy or NARS Larger-Than-Life Long Wearing Eyeliner in Via Appia.

Now back to those four eyelashes. My dermatologist refused to prescribe Latisse. He doesn't like the manufacturer and doesn't like the risks involved, particularly discoloration of your retinas. So I've tried the over-the-counter enhancers. Over the winter, I religiously applied Rapidlash Eyelash enhancing serum twice a day as recommended, to no avail. Really didn't notice any difference at all. Then I was chatting with the ladies at the Bleecker Street NARS store who have insanely long, thick lashes and asked their secret, figuring it was Latisse or eyelash extensions. They both swore by Grandelash serum. I've now been using it twice daily and my eyelashes might be a smidge longer but they seem a bit thicker. I'll keep you posted.

Okay - that's it. It only takes a dozen or more products (and several hundred dollars) to achieve that perfect Springtime no-makeup radiance! Let me know what your favorite beauty finds are this season!