Spiffy

Chocosho is one of my favorite online stores. Every time I browse their site, I'm put in a tizzy by the amazing items they keep in stock. I end up wanting everything. My new lusts are these tights. I want all of them:



And speaking of great online boutiques, I have a new favorite. It's called Sodafine. It kind of reminds me of Le Train Bleu if LTB were to carry extremely fashionable and yet eco-friendly clothing. Check out some of the amazing little finds I stumbled across on Sodafine:













Great stuff, eh?

Bargains + Christmas Shopping = A Very Good Thing

If you want a bunch of extra savings for Christmas, I suggest you check out some of these sites:

Huge list of "Friends and Family" codes available NOW

Ebates!

Paypal Holiday savings

Reesycakes: The best place to find fashion-related codes on the internet.

Grechen's Closet Online Sales and Discount Codes

Happy savings!

Photoshoots of the Young and Fabulous

All of these ladies look stunning!


Natalie Portman in NYT Style:














Charlotte Gainsburg in Vogue Paris:









Mischa Barton in Arena:

These are my "Lemmings:"

I Can Has Pretty Blue Purse?

Thanks to Suzy at Vintage Amore, I am the proud owner of this clutch:

Confessions of a 24-year old product junkie

As much as I adore shoes, bags, clothes, and jewelry, there is also a very special place in my heart for beauty products. I've compiled a list of my favorite products. I can't live without these. Actually, I totally could but I would look haggard and have bad skin and fried hair if I did.




Holy Grail Lipsticks:

ULTA Sheer Rose

ULTA Lavender Shimmer

Like most regular lipsticks and glosses, these come right off when eating or kissing. But, I'm fine with that. I hate the long-lasting lipsticks and glosses because they're so drying. These impart the perfect amount of color and they come in the prettiest shades. Every time I wear these lipsticks women ask me what I'm wearing.





Holy Grail Skin Products (Everyone says I have perfect skin. Here are the products I have to thank for all of those compliments):

Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleansers - it cleans up oily skin without stripping it and has a pleasant, mild fragrance. It's not overdrying and is good for ALL skin types.

Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Hydrating Body Cream - this is the only lotion I've found that is super rich but melts into the skin without making it greasy and that smells really really nice.

Peter Thomas Roth 3% Glycolic Acid Face Wash - this is a once a week treatment that perfects skin. Really, it does. It helps get rid of blemishes, it soothes uneven skin tone, and it smooths rough skin. Whenever I get a pimple, it seems to leave small pink mark on my skin regardless of whether or not I pick at it. This face wash has cleared away EVERY mark on my face. My skin is perfect. I attribute it mostly to this product. It's expensive but you use it really sparingly. It will last you more than 6 months. Use it 1-2 a week. Any more can be overdrying and irritating.

Clean & Clear Oil Free Dual Action Moisturizer - it's super cheap, super effective and Jean Godfrey-June turned me onto it ('nuff said).

Beyond Belief Alpha-Beta-Hydroxy Intensive Repair Serum - this serum will make your skin glow and really helps repair damage.

Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Toner - I swear by this stuff. You can wash your face so thoroughly and then swipe it with this toner and take off even MORE dirt and makeup. It's magical.

Burt's Bees Parsley Blemish Stick - not to be confused with the Herbal Blemish Stick. It is far superior to the herbal version in every way. It also clears up blemishes overnight. It's incredible!

Kiehl's Lycopene Moisturizer - the best eye cream in the world. It is moisturizing and firming. I love this stuff, even though it's hella expensive.

Peter Thomas Roth Max Anti-Shine Mattifying Gel - I have oily skin in my t-zone and this is the only stuff that REALLY works for mattifying the shine. Plus, it zaps shine in pictures too. This is a must-have for any photo-shoot.

Murad Lighten and Brighten Eye Treatment - If you have dark under-eye circles then this is your miracle cream. It takes 2-weeks to see results but, man are the results good!

Weleda Skin Food - This stuff smells amazing and one tube lasts forever. It's perfect for seriously damaged, dry skin. I rub it into my cuticles. It's also great for all of the dry patches winter brings.


Suave Skin Firming Lotion - If you want a skin firming lotion that actually works, try this one. It's really inexpensive, but it gets the job done far better than those $40 cellulite banishing treatments. If you have trouble spots, just rub this on. In 2-weeks you WILL see firmer skin.




Tools (I only really use 3 things for applying my makeup, but they're so good that they're all I need!):

Japonesque Blush Brush - Yes, it seems ridiculous to spend $30 on a brush, but it's worth it. Japonesque brushes are super duper soft with super fine bristles that really grab the powders and blushes. They spread the color evenly. I use it for loose powder, blush and bronzer.

Sephora All Over Shadow Brush - This brush is a part of the Smoky Eye Kit. It's my HG eyeshadow brush for sure. I can barely remember my makeup routine before this shadow brush entered my life. It changed everything for the better.


Shu Uemera Lash Curler - It's in every makeup artists arsenal. It works like a charm and lives up to the incredible hype

Buf Puf Gentle - this is a small exfoliating puff just for the face. It basically wipes away blackheads and blemishes and makes your skin as soft and clear as a newborns'. It also costs only $3 at ULTA.


Makeup:

Rimmel Lycra Lash Extender Mascara - I have Diorshow, Lash Blast, Great Lash, and every great mascara known to womankind but NONE of them beat out this cheapie Rimmel mascara. It contains Lycra, which is the makeup equivalent to magic. I have skimpy little lashes but this mascara makes them thick, full and long, just like a commercial. Amazing!


Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - I have oily eyelids which means my makeup creases within an hour of putting it on. I've tried everything to mattify my lids but nothing has worked until now. This stuff is perfect. My eyeshadow lasts for up to 14-hours.

MAC Naked Lunch Eyeshadow - This is the perfect eyeshadow. By itself, it's a shimmery nude, but when you layer other colors on top of it, it makes them all POP.



Polish:

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark - a gorgeous vampy black/red.

OPI Russian Navy - a deep navy blue, which is my go-to fall shade.

Essie Room With a View - a sheer, pale polish. Needs 2 coats to look good, but boy does it look good!



Hair:

Aussie Cleanse and Mend - It cleanses oily roots and mends dry ends. Basically, it's the miracle product we've all been waiting for. It has gotten rave reviews by women everywhere, and it smells delicious!


Dove Advanced Care Leave-In Luminizing Mist - this is a leave-in moisturizing treatment with a subtle shimmer in it which makes hair shiny and gorgeous.

TIGI After Party - the best thing about this product is its amazing smell, but it's also a great cream for dry ends. It doesn't weigh them down at all, either.

JONATHAN Condition Leave-In Gloss Cream - This is also great for dry ends and it's so light that you can work it through all of your hair for a little leave-in lovin'.

Kerastase Ciment Thermique - this expensive treatment is worth every penny. It utterly transforms hair. If you just bleached your hair after perming it and then re-bleached it and your hair is a pile of straw (I'm talking EXTREME damage), this stuff could still give you silky, shiny hair. It's incredible how well this works.

TreSemme Deep Quench Conditioning Treatment - If you can't afford Kerastase, then this is the next best thing. It's inexpensive and it really works to restore damaged hair.

Who's the new target group we all love to hate?

No, it's not irresponsible, young Hollywood mothers. No, it's not passionately weeping gay men who adore Britney Spears a leetle too much. It's not even die-hard Bush supporters! The new group we all love to hate are hipsters: scene kids and swoopy-haired emo boys and girls with eating disorders and pack-a-day habits.

Why do we love to hate them so? Well, older people don't like them because when they were young and counter-culture, their protests meant something. Hipsters cling to causes like silk to wool but don't ever actually do anything about the causes they care about (online petitions don't count!). Preppy people hate hipsters because hipsters try so hard for that I-don't-care-how-I-look Look and just end up with the same carefully ripped Ironic T-shirts, bad hygiene and an offensive odor. Smart/geeky people hate them because hipsters took genuine geek looks and homogenized them. Average people hate them because hipsters carefully cultivate quirks in an effort to be different (but we can't ALL be Natalie Portman in Garden State). Everyone else hates them because they claim "First!" when it comes to any great new band and lurk around Starbucks in a miasma of pretension.

So, in a tribute to hipster hate everywhere watch this video:




And download "Mirror Kissers" by The Cribs:
Follow link.

After doing so, you can enjoy a small ego-boost as another minority social group is marginalized by the mainstream. It's what Americans do best. :)

Christmas?

I am already sick of Christmas. It doesn't really hold much for me anymore and this year I am probably just going to make my homemade (amazing) super hot salsa for everyone. I was trying to compile a wishlist of Christmas items for myself and all I came up with was this (on vinyl):



Oh, and I really want tickets to The Flaming Lips New Year's show here. I think this is the first music-only related Christmas wishlist I've ever compiled! It feels like I've grown-up. When I was younger I used to write Santa these long wishlists and totally manipulate him into buying them for me by telling how poor and destitute my family was. "We won't even be able to afford a tree, Santa."

I'm totally serious.

Black Friday Sales

Some of you brave souls marched out into the winter cold and probably scored yourself some very good deals today. I couldn't do it. For me, today is "Buy Nothing Day" (see Adbusters for more information). I haven't even purchased so much as a latte. But, I found out about this really great sale and just couldn't deny you guys such a great opportunity. Adasa is having a going out of business sale! That means everything on the site is 50-90% off and it all MUST GO before December 21st. Check out some of these bargains:


Buddhist Punk Bowie shirt marked down from $106 to $26:




Isabella Fiore "Extent" Ballet Flat marked down from $265 to $53:





Lulu Frost Green Glass Feather Pendant marked down from $450 to $225:





Goldenbleu "Colette" Patent Clutch in Navy marked down from $435 to $174:


Geren Ford Halter Kimono Cocktail Dress marked down from $334 to $83.50:

HFG's Style Rules

It occurs to me that I have a few hard and fast style rules. I always find myself referring to them when getting ready. What better forum for sharing them than this one?

1) Own an ironing board and iron - Nothing can dismantle a stylish outfit more than unwanted wrinkles (or stains!). If you don't know how to iron, take an ironing tutorial. Learning how to iron is important for knowing how to prevent ironing wrinkles into your clothing.

2) Own a pair of diamond (or cubic zirconia) studs. Wear them with everything.

3) Own a lint brush. A real one. In a pinch, use masking tape. Clean, ironed, pet-hair-free clothing goes a long way toward a stylish look. I promise.

4) Wear well-fitting underwear. Truly the importance of this rule CANNOT be underestimated.

5) Own spare foot petals to instantly transform uncomfortable shoes into comfortable ones.

6) I once read a "magazine editor's guide to beauty" and all of the interviewed magazine editors swore that french manicures are Tackyville. I usually keep a pale polish on my fingers, but at all times I keep nice looking, well-shaped fingernails. I DIY all of my mani/pedis at home to save money.

7) Get your hair trimmed regularly. My schedule is every 6 weeks.

8) Find a tailor. This is the most important step to being stylish. Take in everything that you love that doesn't fit you well and get it tailored to your exact measurements. This is worth the money. Donate anything that you don't love and that doesn't fit you well (and can't be tailored to measure, or isn't worth being tailored to measure). A well-fitting wardrobe is absolutely essential. I got a real Burberry trench coat at the thrift store. It's a man's trench coat, so I'm having it taken in to fit me. After it is tailored, it will be an amazing piece to have in my closet. Don't give up on worthy pieces because they don't fit you right.

And here are few tips to play around with:

1) My English teacher once told me a very important piece of wisdom that was imparted to her by her mother: "Always wear a good bra and good shoes." Nothing has stuck with me more than that. An ill-fitting bra or shoes that hurt can make you cranky all day.

2) Know how to do a french twist. It can instantly transform your look from day to night. It's the perfect updo for any occasion (going to a bar with friends, a fancy cocktail party, meeting the parents, etc.).

French twist tutorial:



3) Own one fabulous scarf. Download the Hermes scarf tutorial and learn how to tie a scarf. Wear it around your neck, head, wrist, or loop it through the handle of your purse.

Blech

Maybe I'm cynical or maybe I'm just being a crotchety old lady, but Cobrasnake never fails to remind me of Party Pics for homogenized hipsters. "Look ma! I ain't wearin' a bra and I got my pictsher on the inter-net!"

It's just the egocentrism of the whole thing. I have no interest in looking at pictures of mundane people doing equally mundane things - all under the guise of extreme hipness.

It makes me say, "Blech."

I've noticed that trend though. Nylon and Jane and other magazines are all touting these hipster kids who have done nothing with their lives and yet we're supposed to revere them. The magazines are designing the new It Girls and It Boys and then telling us to worship them. No thanks. I'd much rather revere someone who's done something with their life. Heck, I'd even take Hayden Panettiere. She has a warrant out for her arrest in Japan because her protest against the capture of dolphins. That's gutsy. I reserve my admiration for people who do something besides pose in a big fuzzy hat with a Parliament cigarette.

Yeah, I'm definitely in Old Lady mode tonight.

Fallin' in Love

My love for fall fashion really knows no bounds. I am really excited about this season, not so much for the fall trends that we saw on the runways (which were just a major regurgitation of last year's trends minus all of the layering), but because I am excited to incorporate a more chav/fringe look into my fall wardrobe. Here are some pieces I'm dying to pick up (and hints as to how I'd wear them).




I would wear this Mary Ping Lissel Cotton Tank under almost every outfit. It kind of has a sloppy chav look to it, but it finishes with a unique cut that makes it deceptively couture. Cardigans, turtlenecks, skinnies, and major scarves would all look really cool with this tank.



Okay, so this tank costs a mind-boggling amount of $2000. Of course, I'm looking for a similar (and signifcantly less expensive piece) but I love how glamorous it is and yet it is still a very simple top. I would use this as a layering piece, either over or under fall sweaters and turtlenecks.



The way I plan to wear these skinnies is to tuck them into majorly slouchy socks and wear with wingtips, black & white oxfords or high-top Nikes:



I love these Grey Ant sailor jeans. When I'm not sporting my slouchy look, I'd wear these with a fitted cardigan and sequined tank for a more sophisticated fall look.



These super skinny jeans are perfect for pairing with both neutral and brightly colored tops.



A tomboyish top is just what I was looking for. High-tops and skinny jeans will accompany this look.





This sweater by Chloe has a nice amount of volume to it and some cool details. I'd love to wear it with a long-sleeve plain black t-shirt underneath.



Who could resist the siren song of Phillip Lim's gorgeous pieces? I know I can't. I think this smart, military style look can be deconstructed and played with in so many ways. Sign me up for that challenge!



This cropped sequin covered cardigan is perfect for fall. I would pair it with a wife-beater, a crazy vintage Hermes scarf and some bright purple high-top sneakers for a completely juxtaposed look.

When it Rains, it Pours

So, guys and gals, things have not been going to well for your intrepid High Fashion Girl. No sir, they have not. But, she forges on!

A bright spot in my otherwise dismal week: I found 4 awesome things at an antique store for rillyrilly cheap. I got a vintage yellow turban/hat, a bright green frame bag, a brown and white bauble necklace, and a vintage owl necklace. Yes, it looks like the pre-fab ones at Wet Seal, but it's really vintage and so incredibly awesome! In fact everything is way awesomer than the photos make it look, mostly because my camera is a P.O.C!



Pretty spiffy, eh? I haven't bought anything fun for myself in so long that I forgot how thrilling it was to stumble across really great pieces like these.

Speaking of great pieces, here is my small collection of "creature" necklaces. I love them all dearly. Sadly, Cthulhu, my fearsome octopus necklace could not make in this batch. He was left at a friend's house. :(

All my owls (all really vintage!):



Creatures in flight (all my bird necklaces + a butterfly necklace):


Reptiles (I hope to add to this collection a lot more! Also, I once got offered $100 for my turtle necklace because, basically, it's the raddest necklace of all time):


Crab People (Surprisingly, I'm not a Cancer!):


I am also missing my lion necklace and my rhino necklace. Boooooo!

So one of the things that happened to me that is bad is that I have no $$ and no job and I'm desperately POOR! If you want to help out HFG, you can always just straight up donate through Paypal (indie_elitistATyahooDOTcom). Or you could buy things from me on EBAY! That's right! I have 18 listings up. Here is a sample of my wares:


A brand new Olympia EL 1124 Camera!


Brand New Oliver Pumps by Abaete (for Payless):


A sweet vintage handbag with Lucite handles!



Brand New Behnaz Sarafpour for Target's Go International Collection Cocktail Dress:



Brand New Paul & Joe for Target's Go International Collection Silk Kimono Top:




There's more than this to be had! There are some sweet lots of jewelry (necklaces and earrings), some INCREDIBLE 70's vintage ties and more. Check it out. Buy it up. Help out a starving artist!

<3

"Hope in a Jar."

The title does not refer to the very popular product by Philosophy, but instead to a sardonic comment on what the cosmetics industry peddles to women. For my women's studies class this semester I had to do an article review, and I chose the cosmetics industry topic because it fit in pretty well with stuff I like to cover here on my blog. The research was fascinating. I have always wondered why women shave their legs, pluck their eyebrows and slather on face cream. Truly, the agonizing process we go through is a modern, man-made invention.



Article Review: Making Faces: The Cosmetics Industry and the Cultural Construction of Gender. 1890-1930, by Kathy Peiss.


Once upon a time, the cosmetics industry did not have the iron-clad grip on feminine aesthetics in society as it does today. In fact, there did not use to be a “cosmetics industry.” Prior to the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, women rarely entertained a “painted face.” If we were to look at the phenomena of cosmetics and femininity as scientists, we would regard it somewhat like the evolutionary phenomena of punctuated equilibrium. For a long time, on the landscape of society, there was nothing and then suddenly the cosmetics industry exploded. What led to this? According this article by Kathy Peiss, it was the emergence of the “New Woman” that had everything to do with new cultural standards of appearance. The New Woman had broken out of the “Cult of Domesticity” and began to embrace a life of her own. This new life included finding a new identity, and the rigidly moralistic standards of the Victorians no longer held up. Like any good capitalist society, advertisers sprung at the chance to mass market products that had lingered on shelves, gathering dust. The author of the article calls this the “Commercialization of Cosmetics.” Once interest was shown, the wonderful game of supply-and-demand took over. What followed were three distinct lines of trade: the “class,” “mass,” and “ethnic” markets.


You’ve no doubt heard the saying “cleanliness is next to godliness” and also the saying “what is beautiful is good.” It is these two common phrases that shaped the cosmetics industry as we know it. The Cult of Cleanliness had everything to do with the mass amounts of soaps, lotions and tonics that were marketed to women. People who could afford to be clean were usually people who had money, and so the notion of a clean and fresh appearance became marked by the mutual notion of affluence and success. This is where the class market came into play. Building from that coveted status, the cosmetics industry promoted a new standard of beauty. Beauty parlor owners led the charge on beauty culture. It was in the salon that a woman was able to be pampered and also where she learned of all those great emerging products that were guaranteed to change her life.


It is thus that we see the waning emphasis on inner beauty. External beauty was now the prize cow that was paraded around by magazines, drugstores, beauty parlors and advertisers. Forget being a good person! Rouge was where it was at. Where advertisers had scorned beauty products before and placed them on the back pages of their publications, the surging popularity of beauty culture brought cosmetics advertisements to the forefront (literally, they were then featured prominently in magazines).


The entertainment industry jumped on the bandwagon and soon movie stars were the faces that launched a thousand cosmetic sales. This is a trend we still see today. We have Drew Barrymore hawking Lash Blast and Queen Latifah showing off Cover Girl. This appeal to popularity was the final step in commercializing cosmetics.


The ethnic market really launched by support of African-Americans, especially in the beauty parlor context. The beauty parlor enabled African-Americans to own businesses that were inexpensive to set up and maintain, and also were vehicles for increasing community togetherness. Unfortunately, one of the most popular “treatments” sold to African-Americans by whites AND blacks was skin bleach. It was a prevalent stereotype in those days that the lighter your complexion was, the better you were as a human being. This resonated with the emerging notion that it was external looks that counted far more than inner beauty. Whether we are speaking of the class market, ethnic market or mass market it looked like everyone was buying the same lie.


The cosmetics industry had succeeded in constructing women as objects while appealing to them as subjects. In an unsurprising twist, most of this was orchestrated by males. It is hard to grasp how women allowed themselves to be told what true femininity was by a predominantly masculine industry. In a stroke of marketing genius we were told that the more products we slathered on our faces, the more feminine and appealing we would become. This meant merely one thing: buy more products. The cosmetics industry is but a microcosm that illustrates capitalism at its best.

To conclude this review, please refer to this powerful passage by Kathy Peiss:

If in the early twentieth century, some Americans sought to define female
selfhood in meaningful ways (through the act of thinking or through productive labor, for example) the cosmetics industry foregrounded the notion that one’s “look” was not only the expression of female identity but its essence as well. In this, the mass, class, and African American ends of the industry converged. Although the cosmetics industry may not have controlled the discourse over femininity, the multibillion-dollar industry that exists today is testimony to its ability to convince women to purchase, as Charles Revson cynically puts it, “hope in a jar.”

Peiss, K. (1990). Making Faces: The cosmetic industry and the cultural construction
of gender, 1890-1930. Genders 7, 143-69.