Mosquito bites: 8
Bloody gashes on shin: 1
Giant, painful zits: 1
Photos taken at car show: 14
Photos taken of ONE car at car show: 11
Pairs of dangly plastic whistle earrings: 1
Enormous black sun hats: 1
Estimated ’40s-vintage Vogue suits: 1
Saving-for-birthday-present vintage faux-leopard coats: 1
Circa 1969 PlayTape 1200 machines: 1
PlayTape cartridges: 3
Flat pennies: 3
Things to do upon returning home: approximately one million
Filed under amusement, fashion, friends, jewelry, life-threatening clutter, nostalgia, romance, relationships, shopping, vacation, vintage
I’m a big fan of collecting vintage…well, just about anything. As is my Very Bestest Friend In The Whole Wide World, who is currently in town. (Whoop!, right there off the bat). When we’re in each other’s cities, we go to as many thrift and antique stores as we can reasonably handle. It’s a bit of a drag for whomever of us is the visitor, because our purchases are limited by luggage space, but perhaps that just makes us more thoughtful buyers.
This is my turn to be limited only by what will fit in my car, and I didn’t go crazy. A breezy, gingham summer dress. Gold-seamed stockings. A stylish Arrow men’s summer shirt and some more dress patterns for the store. And this wonderful, red-and-white, makes-me-smile, Schrafft’s candy rack. Perfect for holding up my stock of bracelets for both storage and the occasional booth show. I could even lock the ends with a small chain if I wanted, to prevent theft when/if the rack is ever unattended. It is now easier for me to see, at a glance, which color combos I’m out of stock on. And heck, it just looks cool.
Here’s a photo of my awesome rack ;)
Every once in a while I get hit with another round of those email scams exclaiming that Macy’s or Nordstrom’s is buying out the e.l.f cosmetics line and that I should buy now while prices are low. For the record, neither retailer has ever been in dealings to buy out e.l.f. At last check (not today, I’m lazy), both stores had Web pages dedicated to debunking the persistent myth. The truth of the matter is, e.l.f. is a low-priced line of cosmetics that has a respectable policy of not testing on animals.* So, the last time the email came around, along with a handy coupon code for 50% off my order (up to $15), I decided to go for it. Here’s what I got for $21.45, after shipping:
Eyelashes: Can’t beat the price, and they’re more flexible than cheapo-but-still-more-expensive N.Y.C. lashes. I didn’t use the glue they come with, so I can’t vouch for its efficacy. I’m not terribly picky. They just need to stay where I put them, but come off when I want them to. For this price, I bought 4 pairs.
Eye Widener: This “soft” white eye pencil is not soft enough to use along the tear line as intended, thus rendering it useless. Skip it. Maybe use it under your nails for a subtle French manicure look.
Eyebrow Lifter & Filler: I like this one. A double-tipped pencil with a light neutral end for highlighting under the brow, and a colored end for filling in. Easy-peasy. In fact, its ease of use is why I’ve neglected to more frequently use the:
Eyebrow Kit (e.l.f.’s version of Benefit’s ‘Brow Zing’): I only used it once, and forgot to pay any attention to it throughout the day. Sorry! At least it wasn’t noticeably BAD, right?
Lip Definer & Shaper: Another double-tipped pencil, with one “natural” end and one “nude” end. When used according to directions, I thought my mouth looked sloppy. As a last resort, it makes for a couple of neutral, frosted lip pencils.
Lip Brush: I don’t remember the web site mentioning that this brush had two tips (one for lining, one for filling) AND that they both tuck inside for tidy travel. Which is, yes, neat. You can load them up with color at home, retract and tuck the brushes inside the handle, and go out on the town without having to carry your lipstick with you. That being said, though, I personally have trouble with lipstick brushes. I guess I need some instructional help or something, but I can never seem to load up the brush enough to fully color my lips.
Lip Liner: It’s a pencil lip liner. I don’t have a lot to say about it. Functional, nice color (I chose “bitter,” heh heh), and inexpensive.
Concealer Pencil & Brush: Love love love! The blending brush that is included on the other end of this pencil does a great job of feathering the edges of your concealed blemish, and the concealer end is just waxy enough to stay where you put it with good coverage that doesn’t feel like you’re wearing concealer. I wonder if I should order more before they do something dumb like discontinue it?
Tinted Moisturizer: SPF 15, in a range of colors. It’s not greasy or heavy, which is nice. I know that it’s hard to pick shades via a web site, but it’s just tinted moisturizer, not full-coverage foundation. I did fine with Tone 1.
Cuticle Pen: This is like a fat magic marker filled with cuticle oil. Very handy for dabbing at my ragged Winter cuticles before I go to bed. Immediate results without the oily mess of using cuticle oil and a cotton swab. I’m sure it would work even better if I remembered to use it more often.
I also bought a shadow brush and a blending brush, but haven’t used either one yet (my Sephora brushes are doing me fine).
NOTE: ALL of the e.l.f. pencils come with sharpeners. All but the lipliner’s are built into the cap, which is nice for carrying in your purse, if you do that sort of thing. However, all of the double-tipped pencils have the writing that explains each tip printed near the sharpened end of the pencil. Sharpen that thing twice, and you no longer know which end is which. When it’s a dark/light pencil like the Eyebrow Lifter & Filler it’s not a problem, but the Lip Definer & Shaper colors are so similar that it would be tricky to determine. And you wouldn’t want to define your lips with the shaper end, or vice-versa (rolls eyes).
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Oh, were you expecting a post about Viva? Instead, you get the following:
My car was broken into again last night. In my previous car, the thieves had to break a window to get in. Kind of a deterrent, but not 100% foolproof. They took a portable CD player that time, and it cost me $200 for a new window. With my current car, though, the window design allows for anyone lacking a sense of ethics to simply slide a hanger or slimjim in between the glass and the gasket, and open her up. It happens about once a year. “Lucky” for me, the sleazebags around here aren’t so bright, and generally take the worthless stuff and leave anything of value behind. Last night, they missed my GPS but took – get this – my reusable shopping bags. (They once left behind a CD wallet, but took an umbrella. I shit you not.)
While nothing of serious value has yet been stolen, there is always some form of physical damage to the car, from the scratches and dents of uninvited entry to the smashed steering column or last night’s forcibly removed sun visor that costs me some amount of money to repair. On top of that, of course, is the icky feeling of being violated; that some stranger (and a jerk, at that) has been in my car.
I’m thinking that a car alarm may be the way to go. Actually, I would like to wire my car in such a way as to provide a taser-like stun to anyone who touches it against my will, but barring that, a blinkie light and a siren will have to do. One friend tells me that an alarm system isn’t much of a deterrent, because when was the last time you saw anyone rushing to protect a car that was blaring an alarm? He has a point. But what else can I do? For $230 I can get a basic alarm system with remote locks, installed. If I spend more money, I get more features, but what good does a 2-way buzzing remote do me unless I sleep with it in my pocket? And the keychain screen that shows me precisely where my car was violated? What good is that? I can already tell from the damage, and it still does me no good to know.
The install should take 3-5 hours. I wish there was a movie theater nearby.
I love pinstriping. More than handbags, less than shoes. Actually, maybe more than shoes. No, that’s crazy-talk. But I do love me some pinstripin’ madness.
This past summer, I was nosing around West Side Sinners, a local “kustom kulture” boutique, with my pal Megan. We shop there from time to time, but on this day, we’re there to watch a hairstyling demo by Lauren Rennells, the author of Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styling with Modern Techniques as well as Bobby Pin Blog. Smart girls that we are, we get there with plenty of time to meander through the racks of goodies. Erin, the owner of the store, has stocked a selection of pinstriped handbags and I am ogling all of them, but one in particular is whining at me to take it home. A black leather vintage bag by Lady Audley, it’s striped on both sides in four colors, and it is just fabulous. Erin is asking a very reasonable $60 for the bag… reasonable for everyone but me, that is. I grew up amid the financial stress of a two kids/one parent household, and I’ve never earned enough myself to forget what it’s like to have the power company shut you off. Again. So, even when I was gainfully employed, I’ve always had these unofficial price caps in my head. They shift, so I couldn’t tell you what they are specifically, but I can tell you that I’ve never paid $60 for a handbag before.
But…
But…
Damn, this bag is gorgeous. And Megan is supporting my decision to buy this bag, should I choose to do so. (This is how Megan operates. She won’t tell you outright to buy something, but she is subtly encouraging, if she approves.) Okay, now Megan is being a bit less subtle. “It’s perfect for you. And those colors… it will go with so much! $60 really isn’t expensive, to normal people. You should get it.” Everything she says is true.
So I buy the bag.
I only have to reconfigure slightly what I carry around with me in order to fit stuff in. I start using it immediately. (Erin, if you stumble upon this post, the price sticker left icky goo residue on the bottom of the bag. Maybe you can try a different brand? Or tie on hangtags, instead? Also, are you hiring?)
Not too long after, I’m at my local Starbucks, when the cashier notices my bag. “I like your purse. My dad’s best friend is a pinstriper. They’ve known each other for years.” Oh yeah? Does he live around here? What’s his name, maybe I’ve seen his work at a car show. “He’s local. His name’s Rody.” Heh-heh. Um, this is actually his work. Rody striped this purse. “Really?! Hey, he never striped anything for me! I’m going to ask him to do something about that.”
I’d like to note, I have used this handbag every single day since I bought it. Megan was right, it goes with (almost) everything. In fact, I should call Erin and see if she can book Rody to do one of my own bags, so I can have the “brown” segment of my wardrobe covered, as well. Having those two, I could get rid of a whole lot of purses! (Yeah, right.)
shoes and pie 