beauty

6 things I'm loving this month

January 27, 2016Adventures & Parenting, Book & Record, NightstandVeronica CassonComment

1. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

I am way behind everyone at being a Marie kondo convert. Mainly for the reason that I was waiting for my name to come up on the library hold list for The life-changing magic of tidying up. It came up being pretty good timing it being available right after Christmas and all.

I am about halfway through doing the recommended purge for all of the items in our home that do not “Spark Joy.” There’s a surprising amount of them. Clothes was first and thank goodness for that.

Here's a pic of our bedroom mid purge.

2. Beigey Brown Lipstick

I always have one go to lipstick per season that I use pretty much everyday. Last winter it was Moxie Rise up by Bare Minerals which has been almost impossible to find this year.

So, Instead I have opted for Sephora's Rogue lipstick in ingenious. It is a subtle, almost nude, color that adds just the right tint for day time.

3. Satchmo at the Waldorf

Julie surprised me with tickets to this new A.C.T show. John Douglas Thompson does a remarkable job of bringing Louis Armstrong and others to life in the one man show, depicting a backstage conversation with Armstrong relating the events of his life after one of his last performances.

You'll have to be in the Bay Area to se this one but some tickets are still available from the A.C.T. site if you are.

4. Salt & Fog January Mix

What we are listening to this month, on our January Mix, is a mix of some great new stuff and a few things we missed in 2015 (and a few of our favorite songs ever thrown in for good measure).

And more Hamilton because who could get enough Hamilton? Not us!

5. Down Dog App

Like many people, I vowed to change my eating and exercising habits at the start of the new Year. I love Yoga, but finding the time, money and overcoming my shyness (I am a closet introvert) to attend a class has always been a big stumbling block. The Down Dog App has completely upped my exercise game.

The routines are clear and easy to understand with enough variations that they don't get too repetitive. There are also very yummy yoga-ing soundtrack options to boot. And that's just the free content!

If you have been looking for a new way to Yoga check it out.

6. Her Story

The first season of Her Story is currently available for on the Her Story website.

What is Her Story? It's a very well done creator made show "that looks inside the dating lives of trans & queer women as they navigate the intersections of desire & identity."

It is very clearly a work of love. Having seen and read a ton of stories dealing with transgender people I love that this one does not focus on the transition as much as transwomen living their lives and finding relationships.

Her story also get props for giving a voice to a prospective partner of a transperson. They need a voice too sometimes.

How to apply fake eyelashes

May 24, 2015StyleVeronica CassonComment

It can be crazy hard to apply fake eyelashes. I tried and failed for so many years I am still astounded at how easy it is now easy for me. Here's what I learned through so much trial-and-error. Share these tips with everyone we all deserve better lashes if we want them.

Before you begin you'll want to apply any other eye makeup you plan on wearing first but hold off on the mascara until step four.

You'll need:

A pair of fake eyelashes (nothing too expensive. No matter how much you spend they won't last forever).
Decent eyelash glue
Mascara

Step One: Trim lash

Everyone from RuPaul to Real Simple will tell you to cut fake eyelashes in half and apply both sides separately. This has never worked for me. Also, you don't need the entire lash unless you are on the runway and then you have no business taking advice from me.

You want the lash to extend from the outer corner of your eye to about 3/4 of the way in. Hold it up to your eye in the mirror and check where you should cut. In my experience it is almost always necessary to cut about 1/3 rd of the lash off.

Step Two: Apply Glue

First and foremost get a decent eyelash glue. If you take nothing else away from this post except that you will still be way ahead of where you were when you were using the shoddy glue that often come with the lashes. It is the big of a difference.

I use Duo Brush-on Lash Glue which I purchased at Sephora, but I am sure any comparable beauty store will have similar.

Brush the strip with glue and wait a couple seconds.

Step three: Apply Lashes

Hold lash strip up to eye and match the center of the strip to the center of your eye. Press down. It should be tacky enough that the lashes will stay in place but not so sticky that you cannot move them if you did not get the position right on the first try.
Once you are satisfied with the position, pat the strip down on the rest along the rest of the lid until it is affixed in place.

This part is still a bit tricky and will seem awkward the first few times, but once you do it enough you will be amazed at how easy it becomes.

Repeat on the second eye.