1,001 Beautiful Things: Day Three

Coming home to a pet that is super excited for you to be back! I came home today, and my cat wanted affection. She looked at me, did this cute little purr/meow thing while bobbing her head, and ran into my bedroom. I ended up doing some homework in bed, because she wanted to cuddle under the covers, and I appreciated her need to nuzzle.

Beautiful.

1,001 Beautiful Things: Day Two

Getting compliments from an older person of the opposite sex.

Today, I spent some time at my grandparent's house, chatting with one of my grandfather's oldest friends. He complimented me a few different times, and I found myself accepting them without a whole lot of argument.

I guess it was because there was nothing expected — he is happily married, well into his eighties, and was being nice. He wasn't hitting on me, and wasn't expecting me to say something nice in return. He was doing it out of honesty.

Beautiful.

Monday Muse

Best song to listen to while working out and vaguely frustrated:

Hollywood Undead: Hear Me Now.

A lot of their other stuff can be a tad offensive to some, but this is their first big mainstream song that hasn't been edited to bits. I tossed it into the X and worked off some pent-up annoyance and stress.

Download the song here.

1,001 Beautiful Things: Day One.

I'm a downer. I don't mean to be, but I take a very realistic view of the world — and the world isn't always sunshine and kittens. I want to work on my negative outlook, and I think this is a good way to do it. I'm insanely nervous about a few things, and this will allow me to find one bit of beauty in every day — one beautiful thing.


New pajamas — I love hooded pajama tops, and I bought a new one yesterday. It is fairly boring, Jockey with blue stripes, but it is super soft. I'm at my grandmum's, I just finished all of my homework, and I'm sitting here, warm and ready for bed.

Beautiful.


Via Weheartit

Nars Lip Pencil: Damned review

I made a bit of an impulse purchase today — I was cold, and bored, and I went into Sephora. This is never a good thing. I have a tiny fascination with Nars, and I have been looking for a deep, non-traditional color that is still fashionable.

Today, I found it.

This is a lipstick in pencil form, something that I have not used before. I like it, and I feel that it gives me more control during application. I would not recommend using this as a lip liner, because it is too thick and seems to lack the consistency.

As a lipstick, it is beautiful. More magenta than red, but deep and luscious in a grown up way. Purple, without being grapey. I love it.

I would not recommend wearing it with large amounts of dark shadow/liner, but with a bit of mascara, black liner and beige shadow it works out beautifully.

It is a tad pricey at $24, but I think that it will be worth it.

Tattoo Contemplations

I have always planned to get a tattoo. I plan to get a tattoo for every major life accomplishment/experience.

I believe that we experience things, and we should have some sort of physical memory. Something that shows that we were there, and are still moving.

I have yet to have a moment that deserved to be permanently etched into my skin, but I know that one is coming. Today I looked through a bunch of blogs, and I found some inspiration. I will not copy my tattoo, but I'm always curious as to the placement options.














Images from Tattoologist

Tuesday Tidbit

I paint my toenails once a week, or whenever I do my fingernails. I think that during the winter, people tend to let go of taking care of their feet — because it is cold, and their feet are always covered. I try to always keep my toes and feet in semi-nice condition. I do get the occasional blister from breaking in new shoes, or a small callous from dancing, but I try to keep them well-maintained. People notice.

To me, the little details matter. I may only show my toes when I’m putting my dance shoes on, or when I’m in the locker room at the gym, but it is a little detail that occasionally gets noticed.

Plus, I will occasionally slip my stilettos off while curled up with my Macbook in the library’s comfy chair, or if I’m cuddling someone. I want my relatively ugly feet to look as cute as possible!

Monday Muse: I love you now.

Lately I have been thinking about what love really is.

I got into a conversation with a classmate, one with a four year old daughter. He said that the only real, true unconditional love is the love a parent has for their child. I argued that it isn't true of everyone, that there are those who grew up with indifferent, if not cruel parents. My final word was "Love is a fleeting emotion."

I dated someone who wouldn't believe that I loved him unless I wanted to get married as soon as possible. No matter how many times I told him that I loved him, that I was committed to him, he wanted us to get married. I told him that I wanted to wait until I finished my degree, but I would be more than willing to move in with him, to make it a serious long-term relationship.

He still wouldn't buy it, because I couldn't promise him forever.

The thing is, no one can promise forever. No one can look into someone else's eyes and say with complete assurance that they will feel the exact same way about them forever. People change, and feelings change.

I'm not saying that a couple can't be together, and happy, for decades. My parents have been together for nearly 25 years. They are happy. Is their relationship the exact same as it was in the beginning? No. They have had three kids, a miscarriage, and a couple of career changes. They have each lost a parent, there has been a cancer scare, and there has been weight lost and gained. Their love is a mature one, a comfortable one.

I just have this radical idea: love for the moment. Letting the current love be enough.

If he hadn't been so pushy about marriage, I would still be with him. I loved him. I still love him, in a way that I will always love him. He needed me to promise him something that no one can promise, and that destroyed our relationship.

This reminds me of a Lily Allen song — I Could Say. "I could say that I'll always be here for you, but that would be a lie... I could say that I'll always have feelings for you, but I've got a life ahead of me."

Download song or entire album here

How to live well on a limited budget

This will probably be a two or three part post, because I have a lot of info and very little time (yay university applications!)

Recently I pulled my iPad out when I was in class, and one of my classmates kind of snorted and said “Must be nice.” I asked for an explanation. He said that it must be nice to have everything that I have, to have that sort of financial freedom. I just smiled and let it go, but I found it vaguely amusing.

See, I’m a student, fully self-supported and unfortunately unemployed. I’m paying car insurance for an old Mercedes, I’ve paid for all of my clothing, and I have paid for all of my technology. I also have a latte twice a week and have a gym membership. Not a fantastically high life, but to him, it was nicer than the average college student’s life.

My family lives in a trailer park. I contribute financially to them as well. I do not live off of my parents.

The number one most important thing:

Personal responsibility.

You cannot blame your situation on someone else and expect to do well. Ultimately, we have to decide to move beyond what has been done to us, and choose how we are going to live. Whining about how you weren’t born with money/looks isn’t going to make you more wealthy or attractive. It will make you seem obnoxious and pathetic.

Number two:

Limited pride

I have worked in management and I have worked as a waitress. Carry yourself the same way at whether you are CEO of a global power or you are taking orders at your local McDonalds. A positive, graceful attitude that is consistent is the most powerful, appealing quality. When you start looking at the world with an elitist attitude, you start to lose accessibility, and you become far less attractive. I would much rather work with or hire someone who is sure of their abilities, but humble.

I have class with this kid who thinks that he is god’s gift to humanity — that he is a visionary, that he is too smart for everyone. He is also constantly complaining about how he gets death threats and no one likes him/wants to date him. Trust me, if you are that great of a person, people will like you and want you. “Visionary” is not synonymous with “asshole.”

How to wear a scent: For men and women.

Don't get me wrong, I love a new scent. A body spray, a glorious perfume, anything that is slightly caramel based with a bit of vanilla but not so much that I become the token vanilla chick in the room. Plus, I love to be around good smelling people.

This time of year, it seems like the go-to gift is a fragrance of some sort, for both genders. I like the idea, because it is something tangible and can be less damaging than chocolate (although an interesting body spray AND chocolate? I might love you.)

However, I went into class today and I was accosted by this overpowering wave of men's cologne. It was terrible. I have no idea what it was, but it was so strong I wanted to gag, die, or run. Unfortunately, we had a test so I wasn't able to go through with any of those options. The sad thing is that I really, really like the guy who was wearing it, and was sitting close to him. He is hilarious, and I would love to be friends with him. It is really too bad that whoever gave him the cologne didn't share with him what I am about to share with you.

There are a few different types of perfume, and wiki has one of the most clear break-downs;

Perfume extract, or simply perfume (Extrait): 15-40% (IFRA: typical 20%) aromatic compounds
Esprit de Parfum (ESdP): 15-30% aromatic compounds, a seldom used strength concentration in between EdP and perfume
Eau de Parfum (EdP), Parfum de Toilette (PdT): 10-20% (typical ~15%) aromatic compounds, sometimes listed as "eau de perfume" or "millésime"
Eau de Toilette (EdT): 5-15% (typical ~10%) aromatic compounds
Eau de Cologne (EdC): Chypre citrus type perfumes with 3-8% (typical ~5%) aromatic compounds
Perfume mist: 3-8％ aromatic compounds (typical non-alcohol solvent)
Splash and After shave: 1-3% aromatic compounds


These differences are the reason why you can spriz on fifteen squirts of body splash and have only the lightest bit of scent, and can have a small EdP last for ages because you only need a drop.

The unfortunate part of all of this is that you get used to a scent after a while — which is why you find lovely older women who smell as though they have bathed in their Shalimar. The truth is that you really only need one spray or so of a rich fragrance like that, and it will probably last all day.

My rule of thumb is this: if there is the slightest question, use one full spray less than what you were planning to use. It is much, much better to use too little than too much.

I also like to test a new scent on a trusted friend. It always helps to have a friend who will tell you that even though you love those pants, they hate you. These friends are usually just competitive enough to keep you on your toes, but are sporting enough to want you to have an equal shot. You don't want someone who you have bad history with, or bad things happen.

I personally prefer to test it on a close male friend, one that I am not romantically involved with. It gives me perspective. I don't really like picking out a scent with someone I'm dating, because I tend to equate scent with a strong memory. If things end poorly, I don't want to forever cringe away from a certain scent.

(I must admit, I once told a "friend" that these terrible white, skin-tight skinny jeans that she was trying on looked good. This was after she told me that my body was too unfortunate for fashion, because I have a larger chest and no butt, but an hourglass shape from the front. Tip: don't ask for advice from someone you just insulted. It is a bad, bad idea. I'm not usually this mean, and I am usually quite honest.)


Bottom line: Even the best scent is terrible when overpowering. When you first purchase a scent, figure out how many squirts/dabs you need for the perfect scent. Never, ever go over that, because it probably isn't the scent that has changed. Your ability to smell it has.

Breaking the color mold!

I think we have all heard the usual tip: wear red lipstick on a dull day to add spark and flavor.

I love red lipstick! It is definitely my favorite, but I tend to get stuck in a rut. While it is a stunning, classic color, it isn’t the only one.

On days like today, I like to switch it up. I wore an old, discontinued MAC color that I have been hoarding: Vivacious. It is this fantastic pink sparkly color that is intense, but not too little-girly. I have also been known to wear Up The Amp, a neon-purple color. I know that it sounds crazy intense, but it is actually quite flattering.

I pair this with just enough foundation to even out my skin tone and remove shine, and a bit of black liner and mascara. I feel that this makes my look work-safe, but still young and fresh. The biggest risk of this look is overdoing the liner/mascara combo or throwing on too much shadow. This is a look that you have to be use minimal makeup, or you look like you secretly want to be a Vegas showgirl — probably not the look you are going for.

Tuesday Tidbit

Tuesday tidbit is going to be my sharing of something that worked for me, or answering a frequently-asked question.

I want to explain my blog title, because it seems a little bit cocky, proud. I try not to be.

I am not beautiful, but in the last year have had a few different people tell me that I am beautiful, but cold. I love how the words work together, and I thought that it was the perfect title for a fashion blog. I’m not cold, but I don’t let people get super close to me super fast. Apparently, to be warm I must be willing to sleep with just about anyone.

Monday Muse

I am going to start posting a little something every Monday, something that inspires me, causes me to think or makes me happy. Nothing super major, and it may be a bit mainstream, but something that makes me feel. The occasional song, a cute quote, or a picture of my cats being stupid.

I recently heard this fantastic song on the radio. I was driving along a back road at night, and I was just going through my usual stations. I hadn't heard this song before, and I haven't heard it on the radio since. I came straight home and downloaded it though, so it doesn't matter. It is one of the few songs that I have on every device, and every playlist. I enjoy working out to it, and I enjoy driving home to it, waking up to it, etc. I have no idea why I have such affection for it, but I do.

The song is by Two Door Cinema Club, and is called "What You Know"

This is their website. and you can buy the single (or their whole album) from iTunes

I haven't heard a whole lot of their other music, but it is definitely something that I will be looking into. Check them out!

Traffic Court, and what I wore.

I love fashion, but since I have lost weight some of my stuff doesn’t fit anymore.

Here is a little tip, one that I have learned the hard way: Once a season, you should try on all of the clothing in your wardrobe. It may take a day or so, but it will be worth it.

That way, when you are trying on your gray pants to wear to the local municipal court to fight your $724 ticket, you don’t find out that your pants from last year sag everywhere.

However, all was not lost.

I wore my hair down to cover a small breakout on my neck. A blue lace cami under a gray boyfriend sweater, and black hue leggings. The best part of the outfit? My fantastic Stuart Weitzman heels. Attention catching, but tasteful all at once.

Mine don’t have the quilting on the base, and have wood instead. I would take a picture, but I am camera-less at the moment, and really don’t want to give you a grainy Android picture.