Lust . and . Envy

all i really want: an Electra Amsterdam bike

 
_{Model Agyness Deyn with her Electra "Amsterdam" bike in Soho, photo courtesy The Daily Mail}

So here is a little secret about me: I don't know how to ride a bike.  Yet.  I am fully committed to remedying this sad fact in the next month or so.  Sure its Fall going on Winter, but that just means less people in the park to watch me fall on my bum, right?  I have to say I haven't been so excited by a new personal endeavor in a while. (Well, there was my first road race this summer, but I technically already knew how to run so it was just a matter of showing up.  This is different.)  No one taught me when I was a kid because... well I think my parents just had more important (not really) things to do.  I remember asking a few times, but it never happened.  Fast forward 20 years and here I am.  But this time around I have the time and the resources to get it done on my own.  And did I mention I have a pretty (sweet) young thing just waiting to be my ride? 

Electrais a brand of bikes that I have just become familiar with but I have devoured their whole catalog in the past 24 hours and I am in deep, deep amour.  I was originally lured by the Electra Townie, which was recommended on a message board as a stylish starter bike, and it has definitely taken the place of first runner-up should my Amsterdam dreams not come to fruition.  But the Electra Amsterdam is just too chic and beautiful to pass up - I must have it.  The obvious pre-condition to this is that I actually learn how to ride first.  And I've got that all figured out.  Found a wonderful PDF lesson on teaching bike riding for kids and adults, and after reading it three times I have never felt more certain that this is definitely doable and going to be one of those things I laugh at myself for not doing a long time ago. 

Besides, I can't possibly move to any of my dream cities like Copenhagen, Amsterdam, or Ho Chi Minh without some bike skillz...  Well maybe not Ho Chi Minh because as much as I love it there, their school-of-fish traffic laws bewilder and frighten me.  I'll stay on two feet. 

Need some fashionable biking inspiration? Check out Copenhagen Cycle Chic

marion cotillard to brighten my night

 

There are few actresses I look at and think, "Now there is a beautiful woman."  So much of an actress's image in Hollywood is artifice, the work of a team of 20 to make one simply ambulatory let alone photogenic. And let's not forget the plastic surgery mavens.. "the tweaks and sculpts" as I refer to them.  Does finding out someone has had work done diminish your perception of their beauty?  Most of the time I think it does.  I wouldn't dare judge, but I do think finding out disappoints much the way it did when you were 5 and found out Santa wasn't real; you still accept the presents but you're certainly not going to put out anymore cookies. 

So I am planning on watching La Vie En Rose tonight, the biopic of one of my favorite singers Edith Piaf which also stars one of my favorite actresses Marion Cotillard.  I acquired a taste for French films while studying film theory in college and they still clearly lead the pack in terms of creating films that address the complexity of human relationships with honesty.  (America makes great Blockbusters but the French know how to tell a story.)

Marion Cotillard is a beautiful woman.  She does not carry the weight of a Sephora-store on her face and has all her original parts in their original places.  I find her enigmatic and graceful (like the Libra she is) and she is just so feminine...   She looks nothing like herself as Edith Piaf but she's clearly grown her eyebrows back.  Good for her. 

  

photos courtesy Getty Images and NY Daily News
 
  

Its hat season!! I live for this...

 
  

Top on the list of accessories I love are knit hats.  I have roughly 12 in my wardrobe which I think is actually a lot considering they can only be worn one at a time for 4-6 months out of the year.  I like the idea of wearing neutral outwear, like my khaki trench or navy wool car coat, with colorful and sometimes downright sculptural headwear.  I like to add to my collection in the off-season too, when prices go down and I can scoop up say, a Eugenia Kim I've been coveting. 

My favorite hat-shopping sites include Hatagories for more classic pieces, and of course Urban outfitters when I'm on the hunt for flair. 

two-tone hair for the win

 

I've had my eye on this look since I saw Cameron Diaz rocking it last Winter at the Golden Globes.  Most view two-tone hair as a mistake, or a lot of missed highlight appointments, which I presume is generally the case when seen on the average girl.  When done unintentionally or when the color is too off the mark (making either the roots or the ends look wholly unnatural) this is a look to be avoided.  But there is a right way to do it, which I think Cameron has accomplished here, along with Lauren Conrad, Vanessa Paradis, and Beyonce to name a few.  The look can go anywhere from a-few-months-of-new-growth (like Conrad) up to a-year-stranded-on-desert-island (Paradis) and still look chic. 

Perhaps it is the new "recession" hair color, non?  

I've been working on my own version, which you can see in the last thumnail below. 

 

 

kerastase ciment thermique is my new [expensive] obsession

 

Up until yesterday, Kerastase had always held a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency place on my beauty radar.  I wasn't willing to take the expensive plunge into purchasing this oft-lauded brand because my usual slightly less expensive products (Frederic Fekkai Glossing Conditioner, Nexxus Keraphix, DevaCare One Condition) and even my cheap favorites (Clairol Shimmer Lights, Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo) seemed to do the trick. However, on inspection of my growing-out bangs the other day, I noticed they were a bit shorter and more frayed than the last time I checked them, which of course led to a spiral of split-end seek and destroys and an immediate deep conditioning.   But something was still wrong and I racked my brain until it dawned on me - I wasn't using any thermal styling protection!  I had been conditioning the s--t out of my hair but also assaulting it with blow-dryers and flat irons with more frequency than my stylist would approve of. 

So I broke the glass and picked up Kerastase's highly recommended Ciment Thermique from their Resistance line.  A leave-in thermal protectant and reconstructing milk, this product WANTS you to use it, demands it, for optimal efficacy.  I tried this product out on wet hair that hadn't been washed or conditioned in a few days and not only cut my blow-drying time in half, but it made my flat-ironed hair look like glass without skimping body, if you can imagine that. The condition of my hair with just this one product in it was astounding.  I swear I have a least 5 products in my linen chest promising to do what this one product did effortlessly. 

The floodgates have been opened.  I am strongly considering purchasing Kerastase Nutritive Bain Satin and just throwing away all my old shampoos.  Stay tuned!

Celebrity fans of Kerastase:

(photos courtesy of WENN) 

the bronzer of my dreams: Tarte's Park Avenue Princess

It is grey, chilly, and officially autumn here in NYC.  My complexion has a love-hate relationship with the change of season; my naturally fair, porcelain skin feels at home in the shorter, overcast days but small children and my boyfriend are not amused to be in the presence of a waking corpse most hours of the day.  So I decided I would do what I thought was completely improbable given my aforementioned fair-ness: find a flattering bronzer. 

I searched the Internets for four days reading every review and attempting to find photos of real (pale) girls using a particular recommendation.  I finally found my answer on YouTube with a video presentation by two Tarte make-up artists. They showed a pretty convincing application of Tarte's Mineral Powder Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess.  So I shuffled off to Sephora, scooped it up and eagerly skipped back to my apartment to try it out.  Needless to say, I am immensely pleased.  I am not orange nor do I look like a canary in a coal mine.  I am sun-kissed in a way I have only been able to approximate with airbrush tanning during the summer (if you're looking for a great airbrush tanning place in NYC definitely check out Sundara in Hell's Kitchen.)

Below, a picture of PAP in action.  Forgive my rat's nest and uber-shine, it was Thursday night and I was not in the mood to primp too hard. 

the perfect French-kiss

If I had to choose an aesthetic I stick to most closely, it would probably be Parisienne-gamine meets New England-rustique.  I only put on a suit if I absolutely have to and if I could wear all my pants ankle length with heels and all my sweaters be tweed or marled, then I'd be a happy girl. I am by no means gamine or petite in the strict sense of the words, but I do coquette very well which I think is far more important than being frail-boned and boyish. 

What IS the perfect accompaniment for such style?  Big-eyed and red-lipped is how I want to be buried.  I have rather full lips and if there is one thing I love most in this world it is a nice berry/cherry lip stain. It makes me feel so French and feminine!  Laura Mercier makes the perfect one: Laura Mercier Lip Stain in Crimson.  Not entirely appropriate with a summer tan but works really well against less sunned skin in the fall and winter. 

cheap and on trend: Spitfire sunglasses

_{(photos courtesy Tobi online)}

Sunglasses are one of those items I refuse to spend a lot of money on because I always. lose. them.  I am absentminded and can never remember where I leave things which makes things like expensive jewelry, cellphones, sunglasses all completely off-limits for me.  A practical abstention.  So when I saw these today after spending a weekend wearing my boyfriend's sunnies because I couldn't find my own, I knew I had to get them.  I can't speak yet as to the durability of this brand, but I can say that whatever they lack in that department they more than make up for with sheer chicness.  The only place I have found this brand (and where I purchased my own pair) is at Tobi online boutique.  For $35.00.  For real.

a casual take on the statement piece: Necklush

 

For the past few seasons statement necklaces have been all the rage.  You can't step into a Banana Republic or H&M without being bombarded by sculptural neck pieces that make sense for the few bold and brave enough to wear them.  Now that Fall is officially here and the weather calls for a less-exposed clavicle, what is a girl to do?  Enter the Necklush, my favorite new accessory that plays the role of both necklace AND scarf and comes in a genius array of colors to suit any outfit and any complexion.  (You can see me in my own Necklush below in color "Greens and Blues".)  There are several size/color options that range from $22-$74 and the artisans behind Necklush, Brooklyn-based Troy Hicks and Stefano Diaz, have had their work featured in DailyCandy and Time Out New York.  They have even created a great instructional video to show you the many ways you can wear your Necklush and some tips on caring for it too.  I'm a big fan and will likely be gifting these to all my girlfriends for the holidays. 

you won't know until someone tells you: how to maintain blonde hair

_{photos courtesy Hollywood Tuna} 

No one is probably brave enough to tell you your hair looks brassy. But it does.  That orange/gold/yellow unintentional tinge to your highlights or full head of hair after a long summer in the sun are the result of oxidization of the pigments in your hair. It is a natural occurrence for anyone with fair hair that can worsen with chlorine and/or hard water exposure.  The solution for brassiness these days does not have to mean a trip back to your colorist.  A few at home treatments exist that can bring back the baby blonde you spent hours and dollars successfully achieving.

If you have a good hair stylist, hopefully they have clued you in on the benefits of toning for highlighted or color-lifted hair.  The basics of toning involve depositing an opposing pigment (check the color wheel) to the hair to nullify a hue you don't want present.  So in the case of many blondes, the color wheel shows that purple/bluish tones will oppose the yellow or brassy tones in the hair, creating a cool or neutral tone where a warm one existed. Cool-toned canaries like Sienna Miller (above) and Kate Bosworth (below) clearly know the benefits of toning to keep their pale blonde and platinum hair looking brass-free. 

_{photo courtesy Beauty Riot}