Bye, Bye, Betsey!

Hello, dear readers,

I know I don't usually blog about beauty or fashion news on here, but my photos for my foundation routine came out horribly, and I wanted to give you a post! This is for all you Betsey Johnson fans out there.

Allow me to explain. My cousin brought back earrings from Ireland because she thought that either my sister or I had my ears pierced. Neither of us do. My mom plans to make the earrings into pendants, so she got a couple of Betsey Johnson necklaces from a friend who sells them on eBay, thinking I could use one of the chains. I happened to really like the necklace, so I decided to keep it intact and find another chain.

Really exciting story.

Here it is, just the right balance of girly and tacky:

Source
The blue is more vibrant in real life.

Same source  

On to the irony: The very same night in which I received the pendant necklace, I happened upon an article online announcing Betsey Johnson's bankruptcy! I was so upset, because I loved visiting her stores in New York City and downtown Chicago. They're so over-the-top, a little too pink, and incredibly fun, that it's impossible not to like them. I would never actually wear 99 percent of what she sells, but I can't walk into one of her stores without a smile on my face.

Unfortunately, she's closing almost all of her shops. The good news is that she still has her accessories line at Macy's, as well as her activewear collection in department stores. Apparently she still plans a runway show for September, and there's a rumor that she may have a reality show in the works. I guess everyone needs to expose their lives on TV these days. Ok, ok; the title of this blog is a little overdramatic. 

I just find it funny [in a non-"ha ha" sort of way] that she filed bankruptcy the same day I received my first Betsey Johnson item.

For your entertainment, here are a couple of my photos of her design for the 2010 recycled fashion project in NYC. A number of designers were each asked to come up with one sustainable clothing item that could withstand the elements. The results were put on display in Times Square, turning the iconic location into a veritable runway. Her design completely represents her and her brand: wacky [and a bit tacky!], girly, and very, very pink! These were taken on my trip to NYC in 2010.

                                             

Fingers crossed that all goes well for Johnson and her delightfully bubbly designs.

Have you been reading any beauty or fashion news lately? Feel free to share below!

xEsther

Dug Up from the Drafts: Accepting Who We Are...and Aren't

Hello, dear readers,

I don't know about you, but I hate having drafts floating around my "Posts" box. Until just now, I had five of them polluting my Blogger profile, so I knew I had to take action.

Three of these blogs were promptly deleted, as they were incomplete and irrelevant or merely contained a title and no content. This is the first of the two that survived. Apparently, in one of my first few posts, I promised you that I'd be writing a self-esteem series. I now believe the reason for that was because the creation of this blog coincided with the beginning of a very difficult time in my life. I was doing this for myself more than anything, to reinforce what I knew was true but didn't fully believe. Not that there's anything wrong with self-esteem posts! I just don't actually plan to do a series on the subject unless I feel particularly inspired. In any case, here is the first in my previously planned self-esteem series posts. This is very brief and unfinished, but I think the last sentence is conclusive enough for what it's worth. I changed the font just now to make the separation between past and present painfully obvious. Enjoy this snippet from January 23, 2011:



For those of you who read my very first posts, you may remember that I promised a self-esteem series. Well, I'm finally getting to it! I hope you enjoy.




Let's all take a deep breath and admit it: We've all been guilty of looking at celebrities in magazines, the girl a few seats away on the train, or even our best friend and wondering, Why can't I look like that? Why am I not as skinny, fashionable, pretty? Why does everything always seem to work out for her and not me?


I'm bringing this up because I think it's important to recognize that part of building a healthy self-esteem and self-image is realizing who we aren't in order to focus on who we are.


Who we aren't? you ask. Why would we need to dwell on that? Well, we don't, and that's exactly the point. Let me explain: Focusing on someone else and wishing you could be like them actually prevents you from improving yourself. Becoming the best "you" possible is what you should be striving for.


It's absolutely fine to be inspired by other people, but it's important to recognize that we can each only be one person and no one else.



That's all I wrote. It's short, simple, and to the point, I suppose. Granted, I planned to finish this at some point but was apparently never motivated enough to do so.

I hope you liked this little blast from the past. I'll be posting the second of my drafts sometime this week. I did actually update and complete that one a few days ago. This one remains unchanged.

Wishing you a great week,

xEsther

A Tag Consisting of 11 Questions

Hello, dear readers,

I have to admit that I'm cheating a bit on this tag. You're supposed to be tagged by another blogger; answer the questions; and create 11 of your own. Then you're meant to tag 11 other bloggers. I don't plan on coming up with 11 questions, nor tagging 11 bloggers. If you want me to create my own, let me know. Otherwise, on to the questions [randomly found on Sunnie's Obsessions]:

1. What nail polish are you wearing now? 

NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Fuschia Shock

2. What’s your favorite blush?

 I don't wear blush, so I can't answer.

3. What’s the most expensive beauty product you have?

 I believe Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup is the priciest. 

4. What’s your favorite mask? 

I don't purchase masks, but I do make my own honey mask once in a great while. It consists of, [would you believe it?] honey.

5. A random fact about yourself. 

I am often the only one laughing out loud at the movie theater. Yes, I am that person. Remember me? The one you always want to smack?

6. Sephora or MAC? 

I've mentioned in a previous tag that I don't shop at either of these stores. I prefer Ulta. Between these two, I would choose Sephora for the wider range of brands and products.

7. What magazine(s) do you read? 

If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that I have too many magazines. Here's the roundup: 

• Magazines I subscribe to and/or were gifts: Marie Claire, Allure, Seventeen [though I'm starting to feel too old for it], Elle
• Magazines I get for free due to some sort of promotion/giveaway:  Shape, More [I realize this one is meant for middle-aged women.]
• My mom's magazines: Family Circle, Woman's Day
• My friend's magazines: Teen Vogue and whatever random magazines she buys for fun

8. What’s your favorite perfume?

Probably Strawberries and Champagne from Victoria's Secret. I also really like the VS Romantic Wish.

9. What’s the best base coat you have ever used?

I don't know that I have a best base coat, but I quite enjoy the Wet n Wild Shine Clear Nail Protector as a base and top coat.

10. What’s your favorite foundation?

Since I own just one, I have to say Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup.

11. Where do you want to travel the most?

I can't pick just one for this. I'm going to generalize and say Europe.

Feel free to do this tag, whether it's the proper format or not. 

Have a great weekend!

xEsther

Where, Oh Where, Has This Blogger Been?

Hello my dear readers,

I do indeed realize that I have been disappearing quite frequently for over a week at a time, lately. I'll give you a little rundown of what's happening in my life at the moment and why I might not be posting very frequently. Don't get me wrong; I love blogging. The fact of the matter is that blogging is more of a hobby than anything else. I'll still be reading blogs in my not-so-copious free time, but posting takes a lot of time for me to do when it's not just a tag post or a blog hop.

I finished working at my summer job on August 12, much to the chagrin of the office regulars. The season for licensing gets quite busy at the end of August, and that's when the interns tend to leave for college. I had one week free before packing my suitcase and other boxes and bags with my paraphernalia and heading down to my university. It's about a five hour drive on average, so I arrived Wednesday afternoon.

Unpacking and setting up my room was a two-day affair, what with buying a few last minute supplies and a couple of posters. I got my room set up and went to some Welcome Week activities with friends. School started on Monday, the 29th. I ended up dropping one class and adding another, so it works out that I have four classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, each an hour and fifteen minutes long, and one class Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. That class is only 50 minutes, but there's an additional film screening every Monday night that goes approximately from 7:15 to 10:15.

Now that you've read my enthralling class schedule, I can tell you that my agenda will be packed with a plethora of reading and writing assignments. Hence the lack of blog posts.

It would be much easier if my assignments included showing you my lipstick collection and debating between tinted moisturizers, than answering questions on medieval Spanish literature, analyzing Spanish historical writings, reading Rousseau, and studying the chemistry of warfare. That's the bulk of what I'm studying at the moment, besides my film and media class, which I'm actually excited about.

By the way, I am by no means trying to sound like a smarty-pants. I just wanted to justify, partially to myself, why I won't be posting quite so often, and to share a little bit more of my interests with you.

This concludes my rant on how busy I am, because I know plenty of busy bees still blog in the meantime. I just don't quite have the energy that those lovely ladies somehow maintain.

If any of you actually read this far, congratulations. I can't blame you if you didn't read ANY of this post. This is probably the most "personal" post I've written, or at least one of the least beauty related posts.

I'm off to bed but I do promise more posts will be coming, so thank you to my followers, old and new, for being patient. The list of posts I promised you will get done. It's just going to be a slow process.


Happy last days of summer. [Hey, if it still looks like summer, it still is] I hope you're relaxed, wherever you are.

xEsther