La Vie Est Belle by Lancome

Perfume: La Vie est Belle by Lancome; Nail Polish: Coca-Cola Red by O.P.I

Oscar de la Renta wouldn't have recognized me a few days ago! I tried out La Vie Est Belle by Lancome a few days ago instead of my usual Miss Dior and I must say, I quite liked how different I smelled! Variety is the spice of life after all!

If I had to describe this scent in the word I'd use: luxury. You literally smell wealthy in a classy and professional way. It's also very soothing and very long-lasting. The dry down is quite vanilla-ish and comforting. Try it to see how it works with your body chemistry.

Omnia Coral by BVLGARI

My small perfume collection is tiny but growing. Now I have my eye on another product (been eyeing it since Christmas actually). Check out this bad boy!

My method of testing whether a perfume should be bought or not is if someone who greets me comments on it. I wore a sample yesterday and an old family friend I ran into liked it so much she said she'd sample it when she passes that department store too!

What perfumes have you been interested in or purchased lately?

Review: Miss Dior eau de parfum and Starting a Perfume Collection

For Christmas I've started collecting perfumes. I've pretty much tested all the great ones available on my island. The first one I got is this little lady.

The Importance of Perfume

Perfume is important. I've only recently learnt this fact as for the majority of my life I've been extremely allergic to perfumes. People would buy me perfume for Christmas and I'd smile, say thanks then never wear it. I later threw them in the trash because I knew I'd never be able to wear them (sorry Flower by Kenzo and Ralph by Ralph Lauren).

But lately, for whatever reason, my allergies have calmed down* and now I've found that I can wear perfume again! And I finally understand why it's a big deal.

Frankly speaking, perfume can change one's entire life. Find out how it did it for me beneath the cut!

Review: Tropical Paradise by Free Spirits Cosmetics

Tropical Sunrise by Free Spirits

I promised I'd do a review once I found the perfect orange lipstick and now that I have, here it is!

Some background: Free Spirits Cosmetics is a new but expanding make up line created by Leandra Goodridge, a Barbadian entrepreneur who is also a make up artist.

Now to the review!

Orange Lipstick Lessons

Recently I've been very interested in orange lipstick. But I worried about how I could pull it off because I know it can be a tough colour for dark skin tones to pull off. However, I believed there must be a way. So I went hunting for tutorials on orange lipstick for dark skin tones and I found this gem by Emmy Vargas!

I just wanted to share it because it was a great help to me. I especially liked the lip liners she recc'ed. I'm definitely gonna purchase nutmeg from my local NYX store.
After I try a few orange lipsticks myself and determine for myself the best way to wear them, I'll do a post about it! Please anticipate.

A Few of My Favourite Rihanna Looks

If you've been following this blog for awhile you know I'm a huge Rihanna fan. I don't just love her music, I love her fashion sense and overall representation and branding too. And its because you can never anticipate what Rihanna will do next. Just like you can't predict her tweets, or when her next album is going to drop, you also have no idea what look she's going to try next because she always keeps it fresh!

Unlike another popstar who only wears white, red or gold, Rihanna is truly fearless and willing to try anything at least once. So here are a few of my many favourite Rihanna outfits!

From left: Rihanna attends the Edun fashion show in September 2014 in a white suit without a blouse underneath in order to display the tattoo she got in memory of her late grandmother Gran-Gran Dolly. She pairs it with a sexy body chain and left her makeup and hair simple and understated in order not to take attention away from the beautiful suit and tattoo!

Middle: Rihanna alights from a vehicle sometime in 2013 wearing a Kenzo t-shirt and matching orange high waist trousers. This particular outfit is notable to me because Rihanna manages to pull off something I would never risk: an all-orange outfit. There are some fashion risks I'm unwilling to take but then I see Rihanna breaking fashion rules and taking crazy risks like this and it makes me wonder if I can too!

Top right: The now infamous transparent dress has definitely reserved a place in fashion history. Apart from its transparency, this custom-made Adam Selman dress is notable because each of those shimmering flashes on that dress are actually real Swarovski crystals!

Bottom right: I've spoken about this outfit at length here! Once again, I'm so impressed that she was brave enough to wear a tux as it's normally associated with men. The small touches to feminize it, such as the exaggerated poofed-up shoulders and tapered trouser hem were also appreciated. And you can't go wrong with Dolce & Gabbana, baby!

Fashion and Makeup Moodboard: September edition

Lately I've been thinking about see-through stretchy tops, high waist pencil skirts, too much gold jewellery, and late 80's/early 90's hairstyles.

Makeup-wise I've been thinking a lot about pasting on thick eyeliner in crazy colours-but only on the top lid!-,wearing fuchsia lipstick, and piling on excess blush. 

Fashion: Top 3 Best Revenge Outfits of All Time

1. Princess Diana's sexy LBD

Source: Real Simple

The year was 1994 and Princess Diana was already bethrothed to an unfaithful man. Even worse, this unfaithful husband-to-be was also the Prince of Wales so the humiliation must have been great on her part. In her first official appearance after Prince Charles publicly admitted to infidelity Princess Diana seemed determined to make the headlines about her instead of him. And boy did she! 20 years later this outfit has become legend and is referred to as the "Revenge Dress". Four for you Princess Di!

2. Rihanna's Tuxedo

Soure: Celeb Wohoo

I'm always shocked when noted fashion experts make a list of Rihanna's best looks and leave out this outfit. There should be a law against it because it is iconic, legendary and noteworthy for so many reasons! Before we get to the revenge bit, lets talk about the fashion/sartorial worth of this tux. This isn't just any tuxedo, its Dolce & Gabbana, custom fitted to perfection. The huge poofy sleeves and high heels essentially say, "Stay away. Don't touch me, I'm too fierce." And then she accessorized with black gloves and wore strong black, winged eyeliner to further emphasize how strong and bad ass she is.

Now lets talk about why its so important. This was Rihanna's first red carpet events in months after news of the horrific domestic abuse she suffered at the hands of ex Chris Brown broke. A tuxedo of course, is an outfit normally associated with men. That she wore it as her post-abuse debut basically represented her strength and her desire to be tough. In other words, she doesn't plan to be anyone's punching bag in the future. Of course since then she dated CB a few times but we didn't see any bruises and they broke up soon after anyway.She's not perfect but it's a process.

3. Kris' all black ensemble

Source: Hormones1106

Kris left international South Korean/Chinese boy band EXO in the most shocking way possible. Even before his own company knew it was being sued, a Chinese media outlet released news of the lawsuit to the world in the middle of the day in China. Total pandemonium ensued because the group was coming off of a high in 2013 due to the success of Growl so no one expected a member would leave the group so quickly.

By the time Kris finally returned to Beijing, China after shooting a movie for over a month in Prague, he had been called everything from a betrayer to a disappointment to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This is the outfit he wore when he arrived in Beijing. It's as though he was pretending to be the Voldemort they called him with his nose hidden away from view under a mask and robed in black from head to foot. Clearly he's having fun with the villified image the media has constructed around him!


I've noticed that all 3 outfits are all black or mostly all-black (Di's white choker was a nice contrast to the rest of her outfit) and which makes me think black is the color of revenge! 

Deciphering MUA Speak at the Make Up Counter

Disclaimer: cr: Phil Hilkifer according to Creative Commons terms of use

"It's buildable"

 What it means:
It's not very rich or pigmented and you need a lot of it to actually cover imperfections.

"After the demonstration, you can purchase a product" 

What it means:
You are not getting any products free after your makeover. We are not the MAC counter.

"Just... keep blending till it matches your face" 

What it means:
That product does not match your face. Do not buy it.

"Take a sample and try it for yourself" 

What it means:
The product sells itself. (This is a good sign.)

Top 5 Make up Mistakes to Avoid

photo credit: nikisgroove

5. Not understanding what eyebrow shape best suits your face.

I'll confess that I'm still figuring out how to shape my eyebrows to compliment my face best. But I've found that it's foolproof to follow your eyebrows' natural shape and just keep the area around it clean and well-tweezed. Pro-tip: use concealer around your brows in order to hide any stray hairs that are growing out again!

4. Choosing the wrong foundation

This goes a lot further than choosing the wrong shade (though that can also be a nightmare). If you have oily skin, its wise to avoid stick foundations as they tend to be quite waxy after a few hours. Try a powder foundation instead.
If you have very dry skin, avoid powder foundations and try a stick foundation or a liquid foundation.
    Also, remember that you ideally want to have at least two foundation options. One with SPF, for outdoors (trips to town, picnics, etc.) when you know you will be in the sun. And one without SPF, which can be worn for indoor night time events, when you know you will be taking pictures. This is advisable because SPF can give an awful flashback in photos, and you will look grey!

3. Not blending out concealer, and ending up with a white halo from under eye to cheek to ear.

I've spoken on my dislike of concealer before here, and while I maintain that it should be avoided if possible, its necessary if you want to achieve that perfect flawless complexion. Even when I layer on my foundation, my strong under eye circles are still apparent, and if I'm going out on a date or out with the girls, I don't want to look like a raccoon!
  Enter concealer. Choose a concealer only one to two shades lighter than your skin tone. Concealers with an orange-y base tend to look more natural. Concealer is one product that can't be blended enough. Just blend, blend, blend and keep blending, till it matches the rest of your face. And then make sure you set it with a powder that is the same complexion as the rest of your face!

2. Not matching your neck with your made-up face

Remember to bring the foundation and powder down to your neck so you look like one even complexion.
And don't neglect your ears, and chest if you are wearing something low-cut!

1. Falling asleep in Make-up

Basically, you should only do this if you want to wake up looking ten years older. The make-up seeps into the creases of your face, giving you harsher fine lines around your eyes and mouth.
  However, I've found that falling asleep with eyeliner and eyeshadow still on is truly to best way to get the perfect smoky eye. However, the accentuated fine lines just weren't worth it!

Make up Tip for Cakey Foundation

Finally, a solution to cakey make-up! Previously I had complained that one of my biggest issues with foundation is that it is too heavy for our climate, and that it also gives the face an undesirable cake effect. Well now, I've found the answer to this problem in a video by one of my favourite youtubers, Wayne Goss!

To summarise the video below, Wayne Goss basically advises us that after priming, use a mineral foundation and then a liquid foundation, blend, and voila! no cakey face! I had no idea it could be that simple!

Maybe I'll retire my trusty BB cream and try this instead! At least for a night out with friends, because neither my e.l.f mineral foundation nor my Estee Lauder liquid foundation have enough SPF in them for me to risk this look during the day.

Who are some of your favourite make up youtubers?

Make Up Confessions

Disclaimer: cr. Hina according to Creative Commons terms of use

1. I can't pull off black lipstick but I'm forever liking pics of girls who can.

2. I dislike concealer so I usually just use more foundation on my problem areas and blend, blend, blend!

3. I'm so over matte red lipstick. I'm all about shiny fuchsia in 2014.

4. I always put on too much powder but I can't seem to help myself

5. I apply blush on my cheekbones and not the apples of my cheeks because if I put in on my cheeks it drags my face down and makes me look wayyy older.

New Products

Hi! I'm back with a new post of some make-up products I've tried recently.

Over the first quarter of the year I purchased some new make-up products. The following is divided into the products I recommend and products that were horrid.

BB Cream and the Problem of Foundation in the Caribbean

Foundation was not created with tropical climates in mind. I have Black Opal's Foundation stick and let me tell you, it all starts out just peachy in the morning when it is not so hot yet. Plus I usually wake and get ready super early, so by 7:30 I'm finished my make-up and my face looks so polished, settled and happy. By nine o'clock you start sweating because of the heat but at first it looks really healthy and dewy under the foundation. You just look a little shiny but that's ok. By 11 you can feel it sinking into your pores. The worst case scenario is that you can feel it slowly sliding down your face. This has never happened to me, but I have heard horror stories. What always happens though is that by noon its practically non-existent. I might as well have never put it on. By the time I get home, usually around 7 pm (yes, I'm out all day from 8 am till nightfall), it literally looks like I never put on any make up at all. And it does not matter if I set it with powder or used primer. I just look super shiny and greasy and like I ran a marathon. This is why I rarely wear foundation. Nowadays I've just been using concealer, then setting it with powder, and calling it a day. Plus foundation looks really cakey to me and to be honest its not that great a product in general. I finally understand why so many make up gurus just go without it.

However, lately I've been having some trouble with hyper-pigmentation (this tropical sun can be cruel to black skin, let me tell you), and I've also been having some unexpected pimples (early 20's adult acne has been mainly confined to my back and shoulders though, thank you Jesus). Plus some freckles because of the summer sun. All those things means that I really need a product to even out my complexion. I just need something that will blur out the imperfections. But won't be cakey or sink into my pores halfway through the day. I also wanted something that wouldn't make me feel like I have make-up on.

Enter BB cream.

The Necessity of Reinvention of the Popstar

The Necessary Reinvention of the Popstar in a Postmodern World

Reinvention is the only way for a popstar to stay relevant because we live in a postmodern world where everyone has ADHD (according to a friend on twitter). We don't have the attention span required to put up with a person remaining the same ol' person all their lives. You need to continually come up with new concepts to keep millennials entertained.

Artists who have figured this out:

Madonna

Rihanna

Nicki Minaj

Lady Gaga

EXO

I will focus on EXO and Rihanna because they are the two most exciting musical acts right now, in the East and West, respectively.. 

Early Thoughts on K-pop

I've recently gotten into a band named EXO. I still do not consider myself a K-pop fan as I am not into any other K-pop groups/artists. I am not a fan of the genre, just a fan of this latest boyband under SM Entertainment (SME). That said, by way of EXO, I have been learning much about the genre in the past month. I think its important for me as a non-Western Westerner* to jot my impressions down now, while K-pop is still new and fresh to me, and while I'm still amazed and shocked by the wonder of it all. These are some preliminary thoughts.

Chronicles: Last Day of July

I haven't done a Chronicles: A Day in the Life of the Misnomer for some time (read: in two years.) so I've decided to do one now. I want to do one today because I had a flawless day, for the most part, and I just want to tell all my followers (read: Isabel) all about it.

A Very True Quote From a Writer I Loathe

Like anybody can tell you, I am not a very nice man. I don’t know the word. I have always admired the villain, the outlaw, the son of a bitch. I don’t like the clean-shaven boy with the necktie and the good job. I like desperate men, men with broken teeth and broken minds and broken ways. They interest me. They are full of surprises and explosions. I also like vile women, drunk cursing bitches with loose stockings and sloppy mascara faces. I’m more interested in perverts than saints. I can relax with bums because I am a bum. I don’t like laws, morals, religions, rules. I don’t like to be shaped by society.

Charles Bukowski (taken from tumblr via aeloquence)

My Top Five Favourite Fashion Blogs

Wow! It's been awhile since I posted about fashion! Lately I've been into skin care and make up quite heavily and my blog has reflected that. However, I wanted to make a really quick post on my favourite fashion bloggers and say why I like them so much.

5. Walk of Fashion - My blogger friend Isabel had to make the list, even though she doesn't blog strictly about fashion. She's also really excellent as reviewing make up products and at detailing her skin care routine and stuff of that nature. However, when she does talk fashion, she does it really well! My favourite feature from her used to be the Interview a Fashion Blogger (Girls of the Blogosphere) segment which was unfortunately discontinued quite a while ago. Still a lovely blogger to follow though - and she covers a wide variety of topics such as lifestyle, skin care, make-up, bags, royal fashion (she's really on point with this one!) and nail polish!

4. Crack Cosette - I just never know what is coming next with this one, and thats what keeps me interested. I also love how she stays so true to the European aesthetic and palette. Like, some European bloggers try too hard to be urban or edgy or ethnic, and its just really embarrassing when you know that that is not what are about naturally or even what they genuinely feel comfortable in. She sees that there is still a lot of unexplored beauty in woolly fabrics, and pastel colours. I guess I just like how she resists trends but still manages to do new things with a very classic style.

3. The Sartorialist - At least one street blogger had to make the list and it had to be Scott Schuman. What a legend. The blog of his beau, Garance Dore, is more than a little wonderful as well. But Scott, Scott is amazing. He has the keen eye for detail that a great street style photographer requires.

2. Karla's Closet - I think I actually love this girl. Her style is just so...flawless. I know that word is bandied about a lot, but her attention to detail, to texture, and her fearlessness to adjust pretty clothes demands the word flawless. Since I started following her blog in 2010, this girl has been on point with every single post, and she only started in 2008! As in she took two years to perfect blogging, while others (me) never quite get the hang of it! The camera work is flawless, the editing is down... The whole blog just has such a uncluttered, stylish layout. For me, an aspiring minimalist, her blog is just so clean. That's the word! Clean. Her approach to fashion blogging is just so clean.

1. Style Pantry - If you are considering becoming a beauty blogger, don't go on her personal style page, because you will be discouraged. She can't be topped. Its just not possible. Just throw in the towel and walk away.
No seriously, her bravery with bright colours, ethnic prints and massive, billowing maxi dresses is to be revered. She is just so bad-assly excellent at all things fashion. Plus, as I'm a Caribbean girl, I can really appreciate all the bright colours and light, airy maxi dresses. I feel like if I were to live in the USA and I had all the resources and shops and everything, I'd have a style that was very similar to hers. Her style speaks to me on a very personal level.

Bonus fashion blog:
Style Tao - I really love Miray. She's a phenomenal street blogger. I actually think she might be as good, if not better than Scott, but her blog doesn't seem to get nearly as much flow for some reason, so I plugged her here. Guys, please check her out! She's photographed for Vogue and everything! :)