Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Your Sweet Bippy is On the Move!

Well, the blog isn't, but I am!

At the end of August I'm going to be moving from Hintonburg North in Ottawa to... Wait for it... Dunh dunh duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunh... Hintonburg south. I'm basically moving three blocks and just crossing Wellington Street.

However, expect blogging to be more sporadic than usual during this upheaval... I've already packed my Nina Garcia books, my magazines, my winter clothes...

However, I am happy and proud to announce that I have been invited to write a bi-weekly fashion advice column for Apartment 613! Please leave any fashion connundrum questions in the comments, or e-mail them to me directly if you have the means to do that, and look for that coming up soon! All questions, will be kept anonymous, so even if you have embarassing questions about, I don't know, weird stain removal, please feel free to ask!

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Nina Garcia's One Hundred: #72 Red Lipstick


What woman doesn't love red lipstick? Even if they claim not to, there is a glamour and a cachet associated with it, and if you think you can't wear it, you envy those who can.

In my ongoing Nina Garcia's One Hundred series, number 72 is red lipstick. It seems I can't go to the drugstore without walking away with another one. And Sephora? Forget it. I am constantly on the lookout for the perfect matte red lipstick for myself.

Of course, Garcia is a name-dropper, and some of the ones she cites are Chanel Red No. 5, MAC Ruby Woo, Clinique Angel Red, CoverGirl Really Red, Lancome Red Desire, Anna Sui Rouge Chine, Mary Kay Red Salsa, Elizabeth Arden Slink, NARS Fire Down Below, and Trucco Blood. I have tried most, if not all, of these lipsticks, and not one has worked for me. 

The thing with red lipstick is that there are so many factors that figure in to which one is right for you—the shape of your mouth, your skintone, your hair colour, your preferred wardrobe, and so on. 

I have found my perfect shade: Revlon Matte Lipstick in Really Red. Runners up include MAC's Liza Red (part of the Liza line from a bunch of years ago, sadly discontinued—you might get the same colour out of Lady Bug but the finish is different) and Kat Von D's Painted Love Lipstick in Hellbent

However, I wouldn't have gone anywhere near the Revlon lipstick ten years ago. My skin and style in my mid-twenties could never have carried off such a heavy, matte red slash of a mouth (no matter how much I wanted to channel Diana Vreeland). I was relegated to wearing more sheer, glossy reds, which didn't compete with my clear skin and bright eyes. (Oh, how I long for those days...)

If you are on the search for a signature red lipstick, fear not! The ideal one for you is out there. Much like shopping for the perfect pair of jeans, you have to try, try, and try some more. And if all else fails, take me with you!

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Sunday, July 11, 2010

A Teensy Break

After taking time to recover from Fringe Festival, I had (very minor) surgery last week. I'm recovering and will resume regular blogging starting tomorrow!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Nina Garcia's One Hundred: #23 Cosmetics Bag

Nina Garcia (of Project Runway notoriety) has written several books (The Little Black Book of Style and The Style Strategy come to mind), but my favourite book of hers by far has got to be The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own.


Inspired by the renovations to her apartment, Garcia wrote a book about the pieces she kept going back to in her wardrobe. The staples, if you will.


I have some of the pieces listed in this book. I don't have a lot of them. But in my efforts to become more stylish, I am definitely looking at this book as an invaluable resource.


And of course, I'm going to blog about my style adventures, attempting to bring my list from some to all. (Over time, of course. There are some serious cash outlays in this book. In my opinion, worth every penny.)


So, number 23. The cosmetics bag. Of course, Garcia talks about owning high-end luxury ones (she counts four Prada cosmetic bags in her arsenal), but for me that just doesn't work. I bring my cosmetics bag with me absolutely everywhere (thank heavens for my Lug bag), and a pretty Prada (Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Tod's) bag would just get ruined in my travels. For that matter, a simple LeSportsac or MAC bag would quickly be spoiled. So it's free giveaway bags for me! My current one is a plastic number from Clinique's last giveaway at Sears.


Of course, it doesn't matter so much what kind of bag it as much as what's in it. Let's take a look at Garcia's list, shall we?


  1. La Roche Posay sunscreen 
  2. Kiehl's lip balm 
  3. Guerlain bronzing powder 
  4. Nivea Sun Oil spray 
  5. Kerastase Hair Drops (Which appear to no longer exist?)
  6. Mario Badescu Drying Lotion 
  7. Helena Rubenstein Force C Cream 
  8. Maybelline Great Lash mascara 
  9. MAC eye shadow (I have to say, I'm not a fan, give me Smashbox or anything else, really.)
  10. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear eyeliner 
  11. Tweezerman tweezers 
  12. Shu Uemura eyelash curler 
Which is all well and good, if you've got tons of bucks to spend on a basic cosmetics kit, but if you're anything like me, you don't. So, here's what's in my makeup bag. (I feel oddly exposed, sharing all this...)
  1. Avon Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15 (most days this is all I wear as a base, at least in the summer)
  2. Urban Decay Primer Potion (This product is my #1 must-have. Hint: when you think it's gone, cut the bottle open and there's a lot more left inside! Scrape it into a little pot and you've got twice as much as you thought.)
  3. Avon Ideal Shade Concealer Stick 
  4. Clinique Up-Lighting Liquid Illuminator in Natural (Freebie!)
  5. L'Oreal True Match Roller makeup (Which I hate, and use with a sponge instead of the roller it came with. It's just dreadful, and takes forever to get right, but I'm such a cheapo sometimes that I can't throw things out if I can make them sort of work.)
  6. Revlon PhotoReady Powder in Fair/Light (Which is awesome.)
  7. Avon Pro Brow Enhancer in Black
  8. Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eyeliner in Blackest Black (For the signature cat eye, of course.)
  9. Clinique High Definition Lashes mascara in Black (Freebie as well! But I love it so much, I would buy it.)
  10. New York Color Blushable Creme Stick in Berry New Yorker
These items are supplemented with whichever eye shadow and lipstick I decide to wear on any given day.

Wow. I feel super-exposed.
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Lunchtime Lookup: Weekly Link Roundup

It's been a pretty quiet week here, as I've been attempting to recover from my week-long Ottawa Fringe Festival binge. Andrew tells me we saw 25 or so plays in 10 days, and I'm going to have to take his word for it without going to my notes. I have a lot more Fringe Fashion pictures to share with you, as well as more notes on costuming, but for now it's time for a weekly roundup of links!


Jezebel talks about the Post-Breakup Haircut. And if it goes badly, there's always the strangest headgear (I would hesitate to call these hats) from Sao Paulo Fashion Week. Also, in the WTF category, Vogue's fall mission statement.


The Business of Fashion talks about Jil Sander and Burberry.


My Fashion Life lets us know about The Shop Pulse website relaunch.



CRAFT brings us a Twister Raincoat!


YouLookFab discusses the appropriateness of business sleeveless. And asks would you wear a butt booster? (For the record, I might.)


Vogue UK shows us that Richie Sambora's clothing line is as tacky as can be expected.


According to Gawker, Christian Siriano will put his name on anything.


Tavi is guest-blogging at Jezebel and discusses the difference between being a label-whore and being truly fashionable (using Daria as an example, of course).


MSNBC talks about poor, poor American Apparel.



NYPOST tells us that this summer's It Bag is in reach. (I think my mom has one of these.)


The Telegraph talks about the world's most expensive suit. Don't mind if I do!


I haven't read Advanced Style for a while, but this post brought me back. 


High Snobiety shows some gorgeous jewelry. How badly do I want the silver skull pendant? VERY. 


At The Cherry Blossom Girl, Alix tries out a new look. For those of us who remember the 1990s, this might not be the best look.


And because I like to look at cute boys, Hypebeast brings us the Extra Butter summer 2010 lookbook, the Goodhood spring/summer 2010 lookbook, and the Us vs. Them summer collection. 
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