Bad Outfit #25: Fall Drag Show

Are we all aware that I haven't done an actual "bad outfit" post since I created the new header image last year? Look, I can explain myself: I wear a lot of cheap thrifted stuff (so if you liked it, you wouldn't really be able to find it for yourself in a store), and I am not that fashionable. I haven't worn jewelry in years, I will likely wear the same three pairs of boots until I'm in my grave, and if I'm not going to work or heading out on a rare excursion, I tend to laze about in my pajamas or some leggings. It renders most breakdowns damn near pointless.

But, y'know, I was going to a drag show, so I got dressed. And I love this hideous turtleneck, I love these boots, and I haven't worn velvet in a while. So here we go.

The tacky turtleneck (which I lurv) and the full-length velvet skirt were both purchased at thrift stores for less than $5 each. Ridiculous turtle necks like that are a rare find, in my opinion, but I find velvet skirts a-plenty every time I thrift.

The boots are my favorites by Vince Camuto, and while this specific style (Bollo) is no longer available, I can recommend Camuto boots in general. The only problem with them is that if you have wide feet like me, you will want to take them to a cobbler to get them widened in the toe box.

Going out to a drag show, by the way, is my time to wear two things: House of Matriarch Blackbird and Chanel Illusion d'Ombre shadows. I went for Epatant on this night, because why not? And the lipstick is the Dior Fluid Stick in Kiss Me.

Who makes these shirts?!

**  ETA: Sophie and SM have cracked the case! Thanks, readers; you're all fantastic! **


Friends, I need your help.

Over the past year, I have made many a journey to my local Salvation Army. And on several different trips, I have found these incredibly cool, colorful, graphic t-shirts in the men's section. I love them to bits, and I want to buy every one that has ever existed. The other two I have:

"Hit the Lights" on the right, which was my favorite. Unfortunately, I wore it over a friend's house and it got lost there. :/

Also:

The "Devil Wears Prada" puking eyeball shirt on the right, which has been worn, cut, and stitched so many times I can only really wear it as a night shirt these days.

The problem is...I have no idea who makes them. Not only am I purchasing them second-hand, but the label is just a standard "American Apparel" label--there's no designer or website listed. I've tried web searching, looking on Amazon, checking fashion blogs, and even reverse image searches. Nothing.

If anybody knows who makes these or where I can get more, please tell me! I will give you my first born! ...or, I dunno, I'll give you a shout-out on the blog and my undying love.

Jeans: A Mini-Philosophy

Fashion guru and former Parsons faculty Tim Gunn once wisely, but controversially, stated that the American obsession with comfort is somewhat overrated:

I get very impatient with this whole "comfort issue" with clothing. Yes, you don't feel as comfortable in clothes that fit you as you do in your pajamas and robe. That's a good thing. You're navigating a world where you need to have your wits about you. If you're in a lackadaisical comfort haze, you can't be engaged in the world the way you need to be. [...] Does grooming take time? Yes, it does. But we need to make a commitment. ("Gunn's Golden Rules," p116 & 124)

Some people have taken this to mean that Gunn is absolutely against any sort of comfort in fashion and favors a "constantly buttoned-up" approach. This is not accurate, which Gunn himself points out; a suit is too much for a grocery store when a t-shirt and slacks will suffice. Rather, there's a time and a place for everything. It's just that some people have become completely lazy when it comes to dressing themselves for a day out in public. And I have to agree that it's mildly appalling.

Yes, the August 2014 issue of InStyle included an entire article on "designer sweatpants," comfy clothes made to look a bit more presentable than the standard drawstring fare. And I cannot deny that some of them looked very pretty and, well, comfortable. But at the end of the day, they're still pajamas and yoga pants. What makes me leery is the fact that I know many people who are so obsessed with comfort that they will go out of their way to wear sweatpants and ratty t-shirts 24/7, no matter what the situation, and this designer sweatpants trend might add fuel to the fire. "If Heidi Klum can wear them to the gym, why can't I wear them to my interview?"

Let's put it this way: when I'm enjoying an autumnal day at home, I wear my Super Mario pajamas, or a pair of Merona cotton yoga pants that are so comfy, I could cry tears of joy. But if I'm going further than our house's mailbox? I'm putting on a bra and a pair of jeans. Unless I'm sick, dying, or do not have any other options (a legitimate issue for some people, let it be known), I'm not going to walk out of my house looking like I just rolled out of bed and couldn't be fussed. This is not the case for some people, and I've seen many-a-student waltz through the college halls in polka-dot pajama pants and a hoodie at noon. NOON. I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I also know that most of those students are not deathly ill or lacking for clothing options, so the choice of "pajamas in public" strikes me as downright inappropriate.

 "And please, put on a clean shirt when you step outside your door. It's an affront to the very delicacy of my nature."

Here's my point: modern denim is incredibly comfortable and affordable, but still perfectly presentable in a wide variety of situations. Yet some people cling to the idea that anything conforming to their body is inherently uncomfortable, even flowy sundresses or loose slacks, and they cling to their pajama pants. At the end of the day, jeans are meant to conform to your body. Really, most clothes that fit you will conform in some way. They're not going to feel like pajamas, no, but for the zillionth time, only pajamas should feel like pajamas!

That being said, jeans also shouldn't feel bad. They should conform to your body, and you should be able to feel them, but they should not rub, dig, cut off circulation, or make you feel uncomfortable insofar as you think you look bad/weird. Think of it like a suit of armor: it's tangible, but it makes you feel protected and prepared to handle any situation. It's not a pair of sweats, but it's also not uncomfortable.

A good jeans brand will include a decent amount of stretch so you can sit and move. (Trust me, this is a modern development: jeans were originally designed for folks working in hard jobs, like down in the mines, and the stiffness and roughness of the fabric was a testament to that.) You need to find a brand that feels especially good on your body and almost always fits you right, and in my personal opinion, you need to stick with it 90% of the time.

Don't get me wrong, it's fun to try new things! But have you ever been that person who spends two hours pulling out every single pair of jeans, from every single brand and in every single cut available, trying to find just one pair that fits you right? (Clearly, I've been that person. Ugh.) If you find a few brands that work for you, all of that guesswork goes away, and you can search the racks at consignment shops, or head straight to the right corner of Nordstrom's, for stuff that will most likely work. For example: when I go shopping, I can flip through an entire rack of jeans in less than 5 minutes. That's because, after years of trial and error, I've found a few brands that look great on me, and I stick with them. I wear Citizens of Humanity (my top choice for curvy ladies) or 7 For All Mankind in a 29 or a 30. They fit me perfectly, they have the right amount of stretch, and they come in styles I like. Everything else gets passed over, unless I'm in the market to try something new or a 29 in another brand has a particularly interesting style.

There's also a range of cuts/styles for you to choose from, leaving you with plenty of options. That's something else people forget: jeans can be dressed up or dressed down. I recently got a simple black blazer, and my mother and I gushed over how great it would look with a nice t-shirt and a pair of straight-leg jeans for a business casual workplace. On a day-to-day basis, I wear super stretchy boot cut styles with A-shirts or ripped up tees--I'm dressed, but I'm still me, and I'm still comfortable. And if I'm going out to lunch? Skinny jeans work best with most of my boots, since they'll tuck in without looking baggy. I have a friend who looks fabulous in high-waisted jeans, and another friend who's big on the 70s and loves a flared leg. Whatever your style or preference, there's a pair of jeans waiting for you.

And remember: tailoring is always an option. I learned this the hard way. For years, I would see size 29 Citizens of Humanity jeans at Salvation Army or Goodwill for $5. I'd try them on, and they'd fit perfectly in the waist, the butt, the thigh...and then they'd be too long. So I'd pass them up. This past month, I obtained a pair of 7 For All Mankind jeans that were way too long for me, but were in such a pretty wash and were so freakin' cheap (less than a cup of coffee!) that I decided I would just roll them up. My mom's response? "You know, your aunt could just hem them for you."

My aunt is a professional tailor. Most professional tailors have equipment that lets them work on embroidery fabric and wedding gowns, so denim is really Not a Big Deal to them. And they'll hem your jeans for less than $10 a pair in most cases. I'm not sure how I missed this, but I did.

Look, I'm not saying you have to wear jeans. There are people like Dita von Teese who pretty much never wear pants. But people like Dita von Teese still manage to look put-together and feel comfortable on a day-to-day basis. The jeans market is so full of options right now that I think most people can find something suitable to their tastes, and also suitably comfortable. It just takes a little searching...and yeah, you gotta relinquish the sweatpants for a day. Don't worry: they'll be there when you get back.

Bad Outfit #24: New Header Image

Sometimes, I see something so weird, so ugly, so delightfully tickery-tackery that I just can't resist it. That's the definitely the case with this stretch skirt: it was hanging on the side of a rack at Goodwill and cost a mere $5. My sister and her best friend were aghast when I insisted on trying it on, then rushed to buy it; they couldn't get over how cheap-looking it was.

Yeeeeeah, that's the skirt for me.

I should probably clarify that this isn't as "special occasion" as it might seem. I know that a lot of people wear skirts to feel feminine and look nice, but, uh...I wear them when I'm at home because they're comfortable and they don't have buttons. Same story with most of my dresses and leggings: I want to get dressed so I don't feel like a total scrub, but if I'm not going anywhere, I'm not going to put on jeans. Hey, I never claimed to be ambitious!

TOP: Old Navy button-up

SKIRT: We Too Sportswear; thrifted

BOOTS: Vince Camuto Bollo

LIPSTICK: MAC Lady Danger

Bad Outfit #23: It's All Just An Excuse for Stupid Hair

I'm bad at picking out nice clothes. I'm even worse at doing my hair.

It's not entirely my fault: my hair is baby-fine, curly, and prone to frizzing. So I decided that--since it's Saturday and I have second-day hair going on--I would just try that whole "double bun" thing that was popular in the 90s. I'm not sure I could get away with it on a work day, but for bumming around the neighborhood? Eeeeeh, it works.

Outfit photos taken post-walk and pre-makeup, so I apologize for muh face.

TOP & BELT: thrifty finds

JEANS: Citizens of Humanity Ava Straight Leg (NOTE: this "Concord" wash was apparently LE for this jean style)

SHOES: Rock & Republic Studded Smoking Flats

I'm also fiddling around with some different graphics for FOTDs. There are some items I use pretty much every time I do my makeup (ie, Shu Uemura Hard Formula brow pencil), so I thought it might be more fun to just outline some of the "stand out" items instead of breaking down every single thing I'm wearing. Thoughts?

Should I stay or should I go?

It's easy to talk the talk. It's a lot harder to walk the walk.

I've been thinking of selling my Dr. Martens 1B60 knee-high boots for months. But the thing is...they've kind of been a signature. I mean, they're in two of the four bad outfits in my header image, they always get some kind of remark from passers-by, and they were the shoes that reignited my boots obsession. Incredibly comfortable, super-sturdy, tough as shit: they personify Docs for me.

Unfortunately, I just don't wear them that much. And I don't see myself wearing them too often in the future. I think I've grown out of them. More importantly, they've outgrown me: Bloomingdale's sent me the wrong size, and I didn't notice until I'd already worn them around, rendering them un-returnable. Luckily, the tall style and some really thick socks makes them wearable, even though they are two sizes too big.

What do we think? Should I deal with the shipping hassles and sell them off? Or should I figure out some way to make them work.

Bad Outfit #22: Is it autumn yet?!

Yes, yes, I know: it's mid-August and I really have no excuse for pulling out the old light-sweater-and-shorts-with-tights combo that everybody knows and has gotten sick of. But now that I'm getting up earlier and earlier, and now that Pennsylvania has finally decided that 90+ degrees and 98% humidity is Maybe Not Cool, I can go for 8am walks without turning in to a sticky, sweaty mess. And at 8am, it's rarely over 60 degrees.

Just...take the excuse and go with it, kay?

I made some super-derpy faces in this, so I cropped them out. I might have been derping so hard because I went through all of my old teaching clothes before I threw this outfit on for the rest of the day, and half of said teaching clothes no longer fit me. Goodbye, size 2! Goodbye, paycheck I'll be spending entirely on new and much-needed size 6 pencil skirts!

And goodbye to this gray sweater, which I wore for 2 years and no longer find all that flattering. (Possibly because going up 2 dress sizes also meant, um, going up a bra size, and now it tends to show an awkward sliver of belly even when my arms are down.) Hey, it had a good run!

SWEATER: Old Navy

SHORTS: Mudd

SKULL TIGHTS: thrifty find

CLOGS: State Street

Bad Outfit #21: Back to Black

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping...and I was back in mostly-black. You can't really blame me, though; that new shirt gives me life, I haven't worn a headscarf in forever, and I'm always looking for an excuse to rock out my Vince Camuto Bollo boots! Perfect for a leisurely walk on a rare 70-degree, breezy, bright Pennsylvania day.

TOP: Rue 21, thrifted

LEGGINGS: Steve Madden, from Kohl's

BOOTS: Vince Camuto Bollo

HEAD SCARF: hand-me-down Alexander McQueen knock-off; you can find similar scarves on eBay

LIPSTICK: MAC Viva Glam VI Special Edition lipstick + MAC Viva Glam Gaga I lipglass, both LE

BLUSH: Lancome Blush Subtil in Cosmopolitan Pink topped with Rouge Bunny Rouge Sea of Clouds illuminator

Bad Outfit #20: Post-Mommy-Makeover Mall Run

My mother is a truly beautiful woman, inside and out. But for the past 5 or so years, she hasn't paid much attention to herself. She didn't wear makeup, she'd buy new clothes for herself and take them right back the next day, and she spent most of her weekends cleaning and doing favors for the rest of the family. Sunday, however, was a little different: she bought new clothes and proudly showed them off to everybody, she went to a knitting class, she didn't clean a single thing, and--to my great shock--she dumped out her small container of ancient makeup and asked me, "What do I do?"

Now that my mom has a quick 5-minute routine she can do before she goes to work in the mornings, she needs some fresh stuff and an organizer! My dad chipped in, and I got my mom this cute little acrylic stand at Wal-mart. You'll also notice a few things that were once mine in there: Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy (which she just LOVED), Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes (I'll probably repurchase this for myself at some point), and--no, you're not seeing things--my Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Moist Glow in Tansoleil. It just looked so pretty on her NC20-25 skin that I figured I'd just borrow it from her when I needed it. :) I also got her a brand new lash curler (a green Cynthia Rowley one, just cause green is her favorite color) and a darker, slightly more yellow shade of her Clinique foundation to sample.

But, um, since we were out, I got myself a few things...

...plus a few clothing items. All of them are black, and 3 of the 4 have skulls on them.

And for the record, I gave my mom my extra tube of Lipstick Queen Jean Queen, which she wore throughout the day and kept in her purse...seriously, guys, that lipstick is just so wonderful for so many skintones and age groups. I'm wearing it in these OOTD pictures, too! (Which, by the way, this outfit was far more flattering in real life, but we were kinda in a hurry to get some food in to our gaping maws, so we only took two pictures.) This was a rushed-but-comfortable outfit that I put together to showcase my beloved Triumph boots AND cut down on the sheer amount of black I wear. Y'know, cause there's a colorful coat. And some brown. I TRIED, OKAY?!

 .

COAT: American Eagle Outfitters plaid peacoat

SHIRT: Pink Floyd concert tee, thrifted

JEANS: Forever21 skinny jeans

BAG: Target

BOOTS: Dr. Martens 1914 Triumph

.

I also wanted to let you guys know that I'm totally, honestly working on a bunch of reviews, mostly of foundations. To be honest, I'm a little burnt out from months of hunting for a dry-skin friendly, super-pale foundation that sits nicely on my skin, so I'll probably go over those in a slew of mini-reviews. I know it's not as thorough as my usual foundation reviews, but...you guys understand, right? And I've got a few other new products that I'll probably shove together in another set of mini-reviews, like Rouge Bunny Rouge Sea of Clouds illuminator and a L'oreal liquid liner.

...yeeeeah, I've got a lot to do. Ignore my scary desk o' samples and, instead, enjoy this cute picture of my kitty re-experiencing the smells and sounds of the outside world!

Bad Outfit #19: Still In Black

Hey, at least I'm honest about having a uniform! (Don't worry; I'll post some more colorful stuff soon.)

So spring is finally on its way to Pennsylvania, which means I can start wearing my light-weight jackets and my skirts! But of course, it being more than a little chilly out, I need a pair of leggings on top of that. Sometimes I consider selling my Dr. Marten 1B60s, since they're technically too big for me, but gah, I love them with skirts! What do you guys think--should I sell them at half-price on my blog and get a pair that actually fits me? Or should I cling to my precious babies forever and ever?

COAT: Wet Seal; thrifted

SHIRT: thrifted

SKIRT: Pac Sun

LEGGINGS: eBay

BOOTS: Dr. Martens 1B60

Bad Outfit #18: Loungewear

It's a day off in a 40-hour work week that consists of what I call the Western Pennsylvanian Hat Trick from Hell: there's a holiday coming up, there's snow, and I work nothing but weekend and rush hour shifts. Times like this make working in a grocery store even more frustrating. It's Pennsylvania! IT'S GONNA SNOW! And if you somehow actually get snowed in for a day, are you REALLY going to die without those four gallons of milk? I doubt it.

So the store was non-stop yesterday, and I was so stiff and sore after 8 hours of bagging hams and listening to pointless bitching that I could barely move. My day off just HAD to be an anti-social, anti-function relaxation day, meaning I muted my phone, ignored my e-mail, and waited a few hours before doing my makeup. And of course, I needed very comfortable clothes. Stretch fabric and over-sized shirts, here I come!

SHIRT: cut-up Old Navy t-shirt, thrifty find

LEGGINGS: Mudd, from Kohl's clearance

BOOTS: Dr. Martens 1B60

I made sure to eat a super-decadent lunch before brushing my teeth and slapping on some makeup. I've become obsessed with some of the offerings on the grocery store's antipasto bar, and these stuffed banana papers are probably my favorite! They're full of cheese and prosciutto. *drools* And to finish it off, I had a little piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Sometimes I think I should've been a food blogger...

ANYWAY! I decided to a do a dark eyes/soft pinks look today. Nothing too exciting, but my clothes were so obviously a version of my usual "uniform" (something loose, something fitted, mostly black, boots, no jewelry) that I felt the need to mix it up a little. My apologies about the little red spots under my brows; they needed plucked something awful. I realize I need to add a bit more white to my foundation to get a better match...Toto, I don't think we're in N10 territory anymore. :(

BASE: MAC Face & Body foundation in N1 + White, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in Sx02, ELF Complexion Perfection

EYES: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Shu Uemura Hard Formula brow pencil in Seal Brown, Anastasia Clear Brow Gel, 100% Pure Cream Stick eye liner in Black Pearl, MAC Frost eyeshadow in Vex, MAC Frost eyeshadow in Satin Taupe, Milani Liquid Eye pencil in Black, Maybelline Great Last Lots of Lashes mascara

CHEEKS: Cargo blush in Catalina, MAC Lustre Drops in Pink Rebel [LE]

LIPS: NARS Matte lip pencil in Roman Holiday, Butter London Lippy gloss in Teddy Girl

Bad Outfit #17: LCWBD

For those of you not in the know (ie, those of you didn't grow up listening to the exact same music I listened to as a kid), LCWBD = "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress," by The Hollies. This really isn't a great example of a LCWBD, because I'm wearing a skirt, not a dress, I'm very short, and I ain't that cool. But whatever, it's a long black skirt and I love that song. IT'S MY BLOG AND I'LL TITLE IT WHAT I WANT TO!

CROP TOP: "God save the villain!", Threadless (cut up)

VELVET SKIRT: thrifted

BOOTS: Bollo, Vince Camuto

BRACELET: Forever 21

Review: Lipstick Queen products

I'm a lipstick addict. This probably doesn't shock you, given the title of this blog and my blatant inability to wear particularly dramatic eye makeup on a regular basis, but I just want to make that point very, very clear. I am not a casual lipstick user. I am not the kind of woman who puts on some lipstick as an afterthought to finish a look. For me, lipstick is the single most important part of my makeup, the most exciting and exhilarating step in the process of painting my face. Just the feeling of applying lipstick fills me with the warm fuzzies. Tacky leggings and uber-black mascaras are fun; lipsticks are necessary. I am a lipstick addict.

It turns out I'm not the only one. "Renee!" you might gasp. "Some bitch named Poppy King stole your 'Lipstick Queen' title!" And if we were still in the PLQ (Pre-Lipstick Queen) era, I might've agreed with you, shouting, "DAT CROWN IS MIIIINE!" But we are now in the LQO (Lipstick Queen Obsessed) era, and oh, gaddamn, Poppy King can take any crown she wants as long as she keeps making awesome, awesome lip products. Seriously, I almost wet myself when I saw this display at the Denver airport:

Now, before we get on with this review, let me just get a little something out of my system: I do not like moisturizing lipsticks. I think moisturizing lipsticks are bullcrap. In my experience, they're too oily, they slide all over my lips, they lack pigment, and they barely last past an hour. I do not need my lipstick to be moisturizing. If I want my lips to be moisturized, I'll use lip balm. End of story.

What I do expect from my lipstick, however, is that it not be drying. IE, I do not need it to add moisture, but my lipstick should not taketh mine moisture away and leave me with Sahara Desert Mouth. I also tend to shy away from sheer lipsticks and go for more opaque formulas, and while I'm not all about "longwear" products, I like a lipstick that lasts for a few hours. Everything I've tried from Lipstick Queen fits this bill to a T.

The Lipstick Queen brand, as a whole, has the kind of packaging that appeals to me: simple, elegant, and no-fuss. Lipstick Queen products generally arrive in really pretty blister packs or boxes, but because I was stupid and didn't keep them around, I don't have any pictures for you. Suffice to say that they are Super Duper Pretty (TM), and you can find pictures of that shtuff on the Lipstick Queen website. The prices are quite reasonable and fit in to mid-end category, with all of these products ranging in price from $18-22, depending on the formula.

The biggest issue with this brand is that it's a niche brand, meaning it doesn't have major production or advertising funds and therefore doesn't pop up in regular retail locations all that often. (Hence why I flailed like a maniac when I saw a Lipstick Queen stand at the airport.) I purchased Free Ride from the airport and got Sinner Pink at Beauty.com, while the Jean Queen lipstick and Chase pencil came from MakeupAlley.com users. Your best bet is usually to purchase these products online; SpaceNK, Nordstrom, and Beauty.com all carry a wide range of Lipstick Queen products.

Let's start with the lipsticks. The Lipstick Queen Jean Queen lipstick ($18) is specifically designed to compliment various shades of denim. In other words, it's a warm pink that's meant to pop against the 90% of denim clothing that's a cool blue color. The few swatches I could locate on Google made this product look like a light, slightly-coral pink, so I was downright appalled when I uncapped my own tube. In the bullet, Jean Queen looks like a rather dark rose-red color, which, hey, I'm not against, but that's not what I signed up for! Fear not: it applies as a not-too-bright, just-right warm, watermelon pink. It's what I call a "pigmented sheer," meaning it has a lot of color payoff, but you can sort of see your lips peeking through the product. (Man, it's hard to explain that concept...) The formula is glossy and smooth, which I would normally hate, but it actually stays on the lips quite nicely; after eating, for example, I notice that a lot of the shine has gone away, but the color is still on my lips. I wear this color even when I'm not wearing jeans because I think it works well with my coloring. I'd actually go so far as to call this a Holy Grail. If you prefer glosses, they make a click-pen style gloss version for the same price.

The Lipstick Queen Sinner lipstick in Pink Sinner ($20) is quite different in terms of formula. It's not glossy or slick at all, but rather creamy, opaque, and satiny, with fantastic color payoff and 4-5 hours worth of flawless staying power. This lipstick has a 90% pigment formula, meaning it's rather dense and I can feel it when I'm wearing it. This is fine by me, but those who prefer a weightless lip color will probably want to stick to Jean Queen or one of the Saint lipsticks, which are composed of 10% pigment and therefore contain more of the lighter base ingredients. The only odd thing about this product is that, while it looks like a medium beige pink in the tube and swatches that way on my hand, it has a noticeable peach tinge to it when I wear it on my lips. I hated this inexplicable color morph the first time I wore it, but I've come to love it, and I now consider Pink Sinner a "nude I can actually wear." This formula also plays well with every gloss I've paired it with, including the thicker Bobbi Brown Rich Colour Gloss in Tutu and the very thin NYX Round Gloss in Natural.

The Chinatown Glossy Pencil in Chase ($20) is the perfect option for those who found the Revlon Balm Stains too drying and the Clinique Chubby Sticks too sheer. Chase is a particularly lovely and wearable coral red. This is a another "pigmented sheer" product, and you can continue layering it until you get the color saturation and glossyness you desire. It's incredibly slick to the touch, almost greasy feeling, but it doesn't slide off of your lips or feel disgusting when applied; actually, it's quite comfortable and non-drying, and is probably the closest thing to "moisturizing" in this entire review.

Perhaps my least favorite product of the bunch is the Oxymoron Matte Gloss in Free Ride ($22), but that doesn't mean it's bad. I just had to pay a markup for it because I bought it at a duty-free airport shop ($28 plus tax), which I kinda hate, and the color doesn't quite work on my lips unless I pair it with a pencil or a gloss. The formula is reminiscent of a dry-ish cream blush, meaning it feels hard when you first touch it, but it easily warms up under your fingertip and becomes quite creamy. My first impression was that it was a matte lipstick in a pot, and that calling it a "matte gloss" was a gimmick, but it really does behave a lot like a gloss: it's lighter like a gloss, but matte and opaque like a lipstick. This doesn't have the staying power of, say, the Pink Sinner lipstick, but it certainly doesn't smear all over my mouth, it just sort of fades after a few hours. I actually prefer this as a blusher; the dryer formula can make it a bit tricky to blend in to my dry cheeks, but it looks quite natural and brightening if you apply it correctly. Essentially, it's a lovely product, but it's best for people whose tastes run somewhat counter to mine.

Overall, I am completely obsessed with this brand and would rate all of these products a standout 5 out of 5, with your personal satisfaction depending entirely on your preferences. I plan on owning a number of the Sinner lipsticks, and I'm actually considering purchasing the Jean Queen gloss and a Saint lipstick. Considering how I feel about most glosses and sheer lipsticks...well, that says something about this brand's mystical voodoo magic.

And hey, speaking of tacky leggings...guess what I'm wearing under that black tunic?

Bad Outfit #16: Big, Bad, Acetone-Scented Wolf

You'll probably notice that the pictures for this particular bad outfit aren't quite as clear or as detailed as I like them to be. You'll also probably notice that my face is not-too-happy. Unfortunately, right before I took these pictures, I tripped over a pile of glass nail polish bottles that a loving family member had left in the middle of my floor, resulting in a nice big stain on my carpet that I could only half get rid of.

45 minutes and a whole lotta acetone, Windex, and carpet cleaner, and this is what I'm left with, plus the rank smell of chemicals in the air. Ah, family!

SHIRT: Red, from Threadless

SKIRT: thrifty find

BOOTS: Vince Camuto Bollo

Bad Outfit #15: Oh Beautiful for Spangled Skulls

I'm officially kicking myself for not getting the t-shirt version of this tank-top. I LOVE this tank-top! It looks awesome, the size small shrunk down just right, and it feels soft and luxorious and I want to wear it with everything and gaaaaah! Maybe when I go back to TJ Maxx, I'll luck out, and there will be, like, 50. Because I just wanna fill my wardrobe with this stuff.

TANK TOP: The Class-Ic, found at TJ Maxx/Marshall's

LEGGINGS: Steve Madden

EARRINGS: Hot Topic; Jolliffe Jewelry

BOOTS: Dr. Marten's 1460



I also decided to test out MAC Candy Yum Yum today. It's truly neon, which means my family hates it and I want to bathe in it. The popular discourse is certainly true, though: the brightness can make it difficult for people who aren't at my level of crazy to wear, and it will accentuate every flake and line on your lips. I actually exfoliated, moisturized, and primed my lips before I applied it, and there are STILL a few flakies. But whatevs. I'll bear with that for a neon lipstick.

BASE: MAC Face & Body foundation in N1 + White, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in Sx02, Skindinavia Setting Spray

EYES: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Maybelline The Falsies mascara, La Femme brow pencil in Taupe, Anastasia Clear Brow Gel, Wet n' Wild cream liner in Black, Urban Decay eyeshadow in Sellout

CHEEKS: MAC Matte blush in The Perfect Cheek, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl

LIPS: Elizabeth Arden Lip Fix, MAC Matte lipstick in Candy Yum Yum

New Shirts and Seasons Greetings

Just a quick and dirty post to show you some new shirts I've gotten! I haven't had much luck with posting clothing-related stuff because, again, our sewage backed up and flooded the basement, and I've worked pretty much nonstop, so I'm a week behind on laundry. But I did want to show you some cool t-shirts I got from Threadless.com during their $10 shirt sale! I got these in a men's small; a men's extra-small may have been a more comfortable, flattering fit, but these haven't had a chance to shrink in the wash yet. The Red Riding Hood shirt is definitely my favorite!

I also wandered about with my sister and her best friend for an afternoon, and although we visited several thrift/consignment shops, I only managed to score 2 things at one of the three TJ Maxx locations. Actually, I liked a lot of the Givenchy stockings, but the A/B sizes were really picked over. :(

The loose tank-top is by a brand called "The Classic," which is of course impossible to locate on Google. There was also a version with a lace skull, but I thought this version might go with more (my sister's friend ended up buying one of these and the lace skull, the latter of which was the very last one!). I also found a cross shirt by the same brand that I LOVED, but the medium was way too big.

Looking forward to cropping and modding a few of my most recent clothing purchases after the holidays, when everything at the store slows down! (That place is CRAZY right now.)

I'll most likely be gone for the rest of this week, thanks to a crazy work schedule and the holidays. Despite all of the sadness we've endured this month, I'm hoping that we can find comfort and solace in each other and have a very happy holidays.

Bad Outfit #14: "I was a target 'cause I'm a fashion misfit."

Contrary to what some of my photos suggest, I do wander out of my house looking like I do. And while I appreciate a person with wonky tastes, even if they aren't my own tastes, most people think that anything different or unusual is worthy of mockery. This is especially true if they're in a group--actually, it's almost always only true if they're in a group; I can't remember the last time a solitary person made fun of me for my clothes or my makeup, but there have been plenty of days, including today, when a pack of people plucked up the courage to mock me. I'd like to say that it doesn't get to me when a group of self-absorbed teenagers shouts insults at me as I walk past them on my way to the park, but hey, it does. It hurts for a moment, but the way it really gets to me is that it gets me to wear what I want to wear more often, regardless of the consequences. If my clothes make me feel great, that's already fantastic...but if they make me feel great and prompt a strong reaction in other people, negative or otherwise, well, I'm just ecstatic.


"When in doubt, freak 'em out." -- Sharon Needles

TOP: trashed Les Miserable shirt, thrifty find

JACKET: Blac Label, thrifty find

BOOTS: Dr. Martens 1460 ("borrowed" from my sister!)

JEANS: printed Mossimo Supply jeans, Target clearance section

LIPSTICK: Lipstick Queen Pink Sinner

Thrifty, thrifty, fifty four! Couldn't work out that card anymore!

My mathematical ineptitude tends to pop up in a lot of my catchphrases: "Math ain't my strong suit!" "Well, I never was a math teacher." "Yes, Renee, you are very good at math." (Just in case you didn't get the point, my mathematical skills basically petered out after highschool Algebra II.) But you'd think I'd still be able to do basic addition and subtraction and figure out my checking account balance, yeah?

Wrong!

I decided to do some thrifting with my sister these past few days, and I kept myself to a budget of about $50 based on some calculations I made in my checkbook. This was based on the assumption that I would run my account down to $5 (unusually low for me), but it wouldn't be a big deal, since I've been working constantly and get paid this Thursday. So imagine my surprise when, after a truly fantastic bout of thrifting and drive thru-ing, the cashier at Arby's informed me that my credit card was "at its limit" and I therefore owed her $0.58. I coughed up three quarters, then skuttled over to the bank (which was thankfully right next door) and found out that...well, I'd been off. It was only by $7, but that was enough to drop my total balance down to $0.02. The problem's been fixed, and I got some awesome stuff out of the embarrassment, but yeesh, I've never had a negative account balance!

I blame thrifting. And Christmas gifts. And the money I've been setting aside in savings. (Savings, pfft! Who does that?)

Anywhere, here's some of the lurvely new stuff I got over the past 2 days!

This first group of stuff was a happy accident: my sister wanted to get a pair of sunglasses from Hot Topic, but failed to tell me that they were only going to be on sale until the end of the day. We ended up at the mall a mere hour before closing time and wandered past a Pac Sun that's currently liquidating. My sister wanted to stop in, and I was initially hesistant. I learned at a very early age that Pac Sun is generally not my style, especially since my style rarely costs more than $10 an item. You would think that thrifting would've taught me better!

The two tops were $10 each. The first is a lace button-up for layering, which was on my list of "things to hunt for whilst thrifting" (and I'll post that list as it stands down below). The second is a sheer navy star-print with a cage back and collar that ties at the bottom...I'm starting to realize I'm really in to tying up my clothes. The $5 skirt is a short denim piece that's made to look 80s-esque and has a lot of stretch. I normally don't wear shorter skirts, but I thought this would be a great basic piece to pair with leggings.

Today, we scuttled off to the local Salvation Army, which is currently my favorite thrift store, whereas my sister prefers Goodwill. Let me go on a tangent and explain the logic here: our Goodwill has very regular prices (ie, pretty much every skirt is $3, every t-shirt is $4, etc., unless they're leather or something fancy like that) and tends to have a lot of "every day stuff," including overstock from local retailers like Target. The prices at Salvation Army are, by contrast, very inconsistent, with some pieces retailing at $1 before half-off sales and others costing a whopping (by thrifting standards) $35. Salvo also tends to have a waaaaay more diverse, eclectic selection of stuff for a variety of reasons. Goodwill appeals more to my sister because she tends to prefer more basic, everyday items that retail at a regularly low price, whereas I prefer a lot of the whackadoo stuff that is maybe worth an extra $5 or is available for $0.50 today and today only.

This jacket is a great example of how awesome Salvo is for me. Goodwill is super-duper well-organized and has a special leather section, but unfortunately, I found most of these pieces overpriced (remember, I'm in a thrift store!), and because they were specially marked off with a big "LEATHER" sign, they were very picked over. Leather in Salvo, however, is scattered around and potentially half-price. And since today was "half off all yellow tags," I got this amazing late 90s leather jacket for just $6. FIND. OF. THE. MONTH!!! And while my sister was turned off by the three or four very teeny tiny "discoloration" spots on the back of the jacket, I think they add to the "oldness" of the coat, which I love!

I found a few other cool pieces at Salvo. The first is a long plaid skirt, which mostly crosses another item off of my list. I would still love to find a super-soft cotton flannel that I could knot up on one side, cause I'm weird like that. But this one is still great, and it actually opens up on the side when I walk or sit down, which'll look great with boots! It was $10 originally, but had a yellow tag, so I paid $5. The Lady Gaga shirt was hiding in the men's section and cost me a whopping $2. (And yes, I'm a Gaga fan. Take my street cred! I need it not!)

Even though Goodwill doesn't tend to produce the treasures that Salvo does, I still found some fun pieces. I got a long, plain black t-shirt that I plain to doodle on with a bleach pen, plus an amazing Pac-Man t-shirt. I also got an authentic Ed Hardy tank top that is probably not the most flattering thing I could wear with my body type, but I love the artwork and the corseting detail on the shoulder, and for $3, I couldn't pass it up. (Yes, I also like a lot of Ed Hardy stuff. No street cred, none at all.)

I'm still a little iffy about the plaid tie-up shirt I got for $4, since it hits JUST about my hip when it's tied and can therefore make my hippy-curvy self look a bit wide, but eh. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it! And the hat was a Target clearance item I scored for $2. They also had 2 in black, which I would've preferred, but they'd been trampled on and dirtied-up. The quest continues for the perfect huge black hat. :( Lastly, I grabbed some belts for a craft project I'm planning, I got 4 for $4. My sister found a $4 purse she loved and a $1 Lucky Brand wallet shoved at the bottom of a box, and I got those for her without hesitation.

I also got 2 new beauty items in the mail! Nothing too exciting, as I'm focusing primarily on wardrobe right now and I think my makeup stash is at its saturation point. I swapped my $20 Sephora VIB gift card for a $10 Beauty.com coupon and got a Lipstick Queen lipstick in Pink Sinner and a full size of the stupendous Anastasia Clear Brow Gel.

It's clear that I have a lot more luck with my "tops and skirts" wishlist than I do with my "pants" wishlist, probably because I am so picky, short, and curvy-swervy (in relation to my shortness). Regardless, I think I managed to score a lot of stand-out basics for a stupidly awesome price.

FINAL COST:  $56.46

(Double-check that, cause I ain't good at math.)

Also, here's the makeup I wore for my thrifting adventure and the 8-hour shift after that! It was super-quick and simple: Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion with SPF60, Vapour Beauty Atmosphere Luminous Foundation in 090, MAC Cremeblend Blush in Posey, MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl,  Skindinavia Setting Spray,Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara, Clinique Airbrush concealer in 01 Fair, Clinique Superfine Liner pencil for brows, and Anastasia Clear Brow Gel. When I got to work, I popped on a Laura Mercier lip stain. Reviewing the Vapour foundation is at the top of my priorities list.

One final Ode to Today's Thrifting (and a smidge of a bribe to get you to follow me on Instagram): these were so odiously tacky and wondrous that I almost wept when they were three sizes too small for me. Sigh.

Things To Hunt For Whilst Thrifting

as of December 11, 2012:

• a plain black blazer that doesn't make me look like a Golden Girl.
• leather pants or shorts.
• just leather. A11 teh 1eathurz!!1!one
• a big, black hat.
• a long plaid skirt--softer and maybe less "formal" than the Salvo one.
• day-to-day black boots or clogs, preferably tacky or butch.
• tall, no-or-small heel boots for a DIY project.
• obnoxious patterned pants.
• A PURSE!!!

Tacky thrifted goodness!

Oh, the glorious cheapness! I actually did a short YouTube videos showcasing these pieces, and I'll be doing some Bad Outfits ASAP. Plus, I'll be thrifting some more this week! So hopefully there will be even MORE tacky goodness, which I'll make another post about. :)

Now a Fashion Tumblr-er!

Ladies and gents, I've now joined Tumblr to cross post my awful outfits and a small landslide o' inspiration! And although I've been informed that this makes me a 16-year-old hipster, I shan't get my Doc Martens in a twist. (Which I just noticed I'm wearing in every single header image--TOTALLY NOT INTENTIONAL.) You can click the image above to follow me, or find me at BadOutfitGreatLipstick.tumblr.com--and be sure to provide me with some links to YOUR favorite fashion Tumblrs! :D

Also, I'll be posting a thrifting/makeup haul soon, most likely with an accompanying video. :D I wanted to post it over the weekend, but I ended up getting uber-busy and working graveyard shift. Bonus: by the time I get around to posting the haul, I'll probably have hit up yet another thrift store. IT NEVER ENDS.