Edition 6: Fashion Friday

I haven’t even mentioned that Gulley and I are headed to College Station for a big college reunion type thing.

But we are.

We are leaving town around 2:00 today and will be sans the petites until early Sunday afternoon. Excited doesn’t really even begin to cover it. And yes, our kids are darling. We love our kids. But a break? A break is good.

Even the Lord rested on the Sabbath. And He didn’t have to constantly heat up Dino nuggets.

So, fashion has been foremost on my mind as I’ve begun packing my bag for a weekend away. There is nothing that stresses me out more than being away from my closet. It completely eliminates my compulsive need to be able to decide on a new outfit at the last moment.

Plus, what of the weather changes that may occur? How do they know it will be 75 degrees and sunny on Saturday? How can I know how much the temperature will change between 6 p.m. kickoff at Kyle Field and 9:30 p.m. when the game finally ends? It’s like a roll of the fashion dice.

I’m at the mercy of the meteorologists.

And in other not-necessarily-fashion news, I got a haircut on Wednesday. After a long series of disappointments, I have returned head in hands to my former hairdresser. She knows my hair and I don’t know why I ever left her.

I had a wandering eye that led me to bangs and I am repentant.

She took me back and this was my second reunited-and-it-feels-so-good haircut since my return. The cut is great, but when she styled it she parted it on the opposite side from where it has been parted for the last 26 years or so. She said it was because changing the part gave me more volume.

That may be true, but it has completely thrown my equilibrium off. I wish I were kidding when I say it has made my head noticeably lean to one side as if to compensate from the incredible weight of the hair. Not to mention the fact that my hair keeps falling in my left eye as opposed to my right eye. My vision is completely out of whack.

And peripheral vision? Forget about it.

So tomorrow I will style it myself, return my part to its proper location and once again be able to hold my head upright. Have I ever mentioned I don’t do well with change?

On to the question portion of this post. This week I received a few questions that deal more with beauty issues than fashion. My first thought was that I don’t wear a lot of makeup so I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer beauty questions. But then I realized I can do the same thing I do with the fashion questions and just fake my way through it as if I know what I’m talking about.

It’s a technique I learned from my days of selling pharmaceutical products where I arbitrarily threw around terms like “CYP3A9” and “Apo B Lipoprotein” and “Sugar Diabetes”.

Here we go.

1. Rachel asks: “As for lipstick, do you prefer matte or shiny? I hear that matte is making a comeback, but I’m still partial to a little bit of shine. Also, do you buy at the department store where you get to preview the color on your lips as well as hear a few kinds words from the ladies in black aprons or do you play guess and lose at the drug store? I like the bargain prices, but not my bin full of not quite right lipstick. What are your thoughts?”

Matte may be making a comeback, but supposedly so are skinny jeans and you won’t see me wearing them. I am not a fan of the matte lip. I think even a hint of shine is much more flattering.

Of course I may be biased because matte lipstick makes me think of my Aunt Fina who has worn bright red matte lipstick for the last 65 years. Or as she would say, “lipstickt”.

That picture should encourage y’all to go with some shine. And also, serve as a lesson that a little bit of blush goes a long way.

I have never been a department store makeup kind of girl. Mainly because I have the propensity to be a huge sucker for beauty products and if I dare to step in Sephora and let one of those lovely cosmeticians have their way with my face, I would feel compelled to buy every product they used so that I could replicate what they have just done. Once home I would realize they are professionals and I need more than the products to get the same results. And there I would be with hundreds of dollars worth of disillusionment sitting in my makeup bag.

Not that I’ve ever done that. I’m just speaking hypothetically.

I have always been able to find good products at the CVS and they will usually let you return a product if you get home and discover it’s the wrong color. Or y’all can do what I do and just buy the same colors all the time, but in different brands and formulations.

My favorite lip products at this moment are Neutrogena Moisture Shine in Chic (pronounced Chick in certain circles), Covergirl Lipslicks in Daring, Almay Ideal Gloss in Wine Shimmer, E.L.F. Plumping Lip Glaze in Mocha Ice, and Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Nutmeg.

And actually there are dozens more, but that’s just what was in my purse. I’m not kidding.

Y’all will notice that these are all a variation on a theme and that theme is wine/brown/mocha tones. Keep in mind that I have a medium skin tone, brown hair and brown eyes. These colors look best on me.

Pink, in any form or fashion of lip color, hates me. In fact, it despises me.

However, if you’re a lovely, fair-skinned blonde girl, pink may be your BFF. I hope y’all are very happy together.

2. Cricket asks: “I am in my early thirties and am noticing more and more CHIN HAIR each day! What do I do? Pluck every day? Is there a better way?”

Yes. Pluck. Pluck like the wind.

Or you could go see about laser hair removal for chins. But make sure you’re into pain and agony because it is every bit as painful as watching a “Diff’rent Strokes” marathon.

That’s all I’ve got for this week because I need to do things like pack my suitcase and watch multiple weather forecasts so that I can obsess about the high temperature for Saturday and whether or not I’ll need a light sweater or a coat for the game.

Maybe I should just pack both.

Or maybe I should be more concerned about whether or not the Aggies can beat the hell out of Kansas.

Y’all have a great weekend!

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Just like they did in ye olden times