Archive for January, 2016

Cheap and chic of the week

Doesn’t this boot from Topshop look an awful lot like this one from Anne Demeulemeester that costs about eleventy times more?

Tuesday trifecta

A few things I like from a few LA stores I like. First up, from Tortoise General Store, which is a kind of Japanese design-inspired spot for housewares and whatnots: this nifty yellow enamel kettle.

 

 

At Broken English, drool-worthy jeweler in Brentwood Country Mart: a delicate cuff with turquoise details that exceeds the GOACA price limit but felt too pretty to exclude.

And here’s a cuff  at a nicer price from another place I loved—the nouvelle hippie boutique General Store in Venice.

 

Reader, I bought them

Drop-crotch trousers. One thousand percent man-repellent, but I care not.

Escape from New York

I’m headed out to LA today—it was a very last-minute decision, informed by my twin desires to avoid the encroaching snowstorm and meet the newest baby in the family. And because there are gifts to bring for the newborn and his sister, room in the carry-on is tight. So I’m embracing the wear-what-you-wore-yesterday philosophy of packing, and bringing as little as I think I can get away with. Which is a challenge for LA this time of year, when the weather fluctuates a good 20 degrees or more—from chilly to outright warm—over the course of a day. What follows are the items I wouldn’t think of leaving without, starting with a good, classic cashmere V-neck sweater. Comfortable for the plane, wearable with just about everything.

Under that goes my Roll & Tuck Tee from Jolie Laide, because it is super-thin and slouches exactly right.

And because that’s an awful lot of black: my perfect Six Trousers from Crippen—they’re skinny pants that look good on people who don’t think they look good in skinny pants—and which lighten things up ever so nominally.

Also excellently not black: these greenish-greyish clog boots from No. 6, which I could walk around in forever (or until I get plantar fascitis from wearing clogs too often, like my sister in law did).

A tiny diamond star feels about right for the Glossy Coast.

 

As do boppy blue sunglasses.

 

My happy place

There are few things more excellent than arriving at CO Bigelow Apothecary to pick up a prescription and being told that it’s not quite ready. Because this means you are left with no choice but to browse their endless and excellent selection of beauty products; to stock up on old reliables and discover new indispensables. This was my yesterday.

First, a reliable: I can’t believe I’m only now just getting around to writing about Klorane Floral Water Makeup Remover, because I have stayed loyal to it for longer than pretty much any other item in my beauty arsenal. It takes everything off, and is the lightest ever—true to its name, like water. No grease, no stinging.

My new new favorite lip color, people. And not just because this is the perfect reddish-pink— (or pinkish red?) but also because it is truly the longest-lasting tint I have ever tried. As in, I applied some mid-day, and then hours later, when time rolled around to take the dog out for his evening walk, I checked the mirror and it was still there. And it’s super-matte, which may be very 80s of me to like, but I like it.

I can’t quite get to the bottom of what they put in Swedish Dream Sea Salt soap to make it smell so damn fresh, but I’ve long thought that if I could pipe the scent into my home, I would. This candle version is the next best thing.

Migraines used to be a big part of my life, and while only drugs truly made them go away, lavender provided a lot of relief, and nipped quite a few small headaches in the bud before they became big ones. I am picky, picky about my lavender as a result, and this stuff—a light, milky oil that absorbs immediately and has a clean, not-too-heavy scent—clears the bar in a big way.

What’s your worst habit?

I’m a hideous, hideous procrastinator. You?