Cool makeup

I'm fiercely loyal.
To family, friends, stores, clothing lines. I'm basically the human equivalent of a collie.
But for some reason, I just can't commit to a makeup foundation.
Now, you'd have to pry my MAC eyeshadows out of my cold, dead hands, but when it comes to what I put all over my face, I constantly flip-flop. One minute I love MAC studio fix; the next I'm all about Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Enhancer Tinted Moisturizer. Then I tried MAC's loose Mineralize powder and thought that was The One. Then it was Benefit's Some Kind-a Gorgeous.
I'm a makeup ho.
Maybe MAC's new Studio Sculpt foundation will make me a changed woman.
I had a MAC-over at the Park Place MAC counter last week, and my favorite FAVORITE makeup artist EVER, Maria, used this stuff on me. (If you ever want to experiment with new looks, Maria's your girl. She's fab. I never see anyone else. Remember — Park Place Mac counter.)
Studio Sculpt is light and oil-free, so good for people like me who could be Penzoil's poster child. The trick is to warm up the liquid in your hands and then smooth it onto your face. I use my trusty MAC foundation brush, too, to make sure everything's blended in. The Studio Sculpt provides a flawless finish without feeling like your makeup was done by Sherwin Williams.
Love it.
For now.

Dresses, dresses, dresses

Just aimlessly casting about the World Wide Web today. What I keep seeking out — dresses. Any dress, any form. Is there anything better in the summertime than an easy-to-wear, soft dress? I think not.
My fave right now is this Banana Republic silk dress. Love the purple, love the silver, love the ikat-ish print. It's gorgeous.
A little more edgy is this Riller & Fount halter dress. Normally this line is a little too Lohan for me, but the drapey style just seems so appealing and so....starlet and vacation-worthy. It screams, "Take me out to dinner."

Up to some shoenanigans

Hi, name is Kristen and I'm a shoeaholic.
What's prompting this confession is that I just realized I've purchased four pairs in the past month.
I love shoes. Adore them. And, I have a lot. I haven't actually counted because I don't want to have a number attached. If there's some mystery and no set amount, then perhaps I don't really have a problem.
Over the weekend, I snapped up a pair of these cute Simple peep-toe flats. They were just under $30 (free shipping), and I'd wish-listed them weeks ago. It was a must-buy situation.
So, now here's my dilemma: I'm officially out of space.
Earlier this year, we paid someone to redo the master closet, and while it's still not the one of my dreams (that would probably be Fergie's, which I saw featured in one of my many fashion porn mags), it's quite functional. The lovely Scottish woman who designed it warned me that even with the seemingly endless shoe shelves, she could probably only get 100 pairs into the closet.
In some cases, my shoes — mostly flip flops - are double-stacked. I've had to start an auxiliary shoe stash in the guest closet. There are a fair number of boxes in there. I'm not going to count them up. You can't make me.
So, I don't know what to do. We're out of room, and I can't bear to part with any pairs — I weeded out earlier this year and there's no more riff-raff. It'll be years before the kids move out and I can take over a room.
So as I consider my past month's shoenanigans, my question is, if evolution is true, how come women don't have more feet for more shoes? Hmmmmm?

Major scoopage

This just in....H & M - the inexpensive clothing powerhouse and one of my all-time favorite, favorite stores - is coming to Tucson.
Huge news. HUGE.
We've been waiting for a year for the chain to finally open in Scottsdale. You know how it goes with construction, delays, delays. Originally set to open in spring of this year, the opening - near Kierland Commons - is set for fall now.
H & M is supposed to open at the Tucson Mall. No word yet exactly where or when, but it should be soon. Here's to hoping it's well before the November debut of Jimmy Choo's special H & M line.

Tales from the scary fashion files

Just two words in the fashion world strike terror into my multiple-child-bearing gut more than any other: cropped top.
Shudder.
This might be the worst of the '80s worming its way back onto the scene.
Free People — which is perpetually too young, too tight and too all-around wrong for me yet I'm still drawn to the site —  is touting cropped tops in many incarnations. Though many of 'em are meant to be layered, the look is still wrong, wrong, wrong. At least in my book.
Can we please move on from the bad '80s fashion trends? Please?

Hanging in my closet

So, a recent Lucky mag issue featured this gorgeous DVF peach jacket. I fell head over heels. Loved how it was styled and decided I must have it. Must.
Well after sleuthing around the Internet, come to find out that the jacket wasn't even in production (that's one of the things I despise about fashion mags — they feature things that may or may not be available). Eventually, DVF did put a silver jacket into production. It's hideous. This looks more like foil and space age-y while the peach jacket was soft and feminine and not so avant-garde.
Being the obsessive type, I hunted and hunted and hunted and actually found a very similar jacket to the peach, shimmery jacket. By Ideeen, it's a nude-gold trench and very soft. I found it completely by accident on a random New York-based Web site. Because I had to have it, I ordered it. Two months ago. The jacket is still hanging in the closet, waiting to be worn. I'm a little scared.

Getting my Lohan on

Personal style changes, evolves.
What you love and wear in your teens isn't what you'll throw on 20 years later. And if you do, that's how you end up on "What Not To Wear."
Lately, pieces with edge are incredibly appealing — a peep-toe bootie with buckles, a leather bracelet punked out with chains and metal.
This isn't like me. I gravitate toward ruffles and feminine touches, very Anthropologie.
I'm not sure why my inner bitch is threatening to bust free. Perhaps it's pent-up frustration over being a shut-in?
Well, I've decided to embrace the biker chick within. Because done appropriately (see Carrie Bradshaw in her studded Dior gladiators and tough black belt in the "Sex and The City" movie), it's a good look.
I'd been obsessing for weeks — WEEKS — over the Sweet Life by Dolce Vita boots and leather-metal bracelet at Urban Outfitters. After getting the Who What Wear e-mail showing actress Jessica Szohr in the same boots, I knew I did need them. And that cool, tribal-looking skirt she's wearing, too.
I'm excited — Fed Ex tracking says my prizes arrive in a few days.
Maybe by just looking a little tougher, it'll keep me from going all Tyra and acting tougher.