Miss Mondrian

Nancy Drew and Steve Jobs had nothing in common until they became my style aspirations for 2017. The two made a fabulous couple and accompanied me through a lot of life changes. I moved to Texas. Studied Biology. Got hurt and heartbroken and heart flooded. Turned 20. My life is so very different from when I set out to dress like a 1940's detective mixed with an 80's nerd. Though the black turtlenecks and wool skirts still fit...the overall style seems less fitting now.

That being said, I love black turtlenecks! Heck, I'm wearing one right now. They're not going anywhere (except hopefully the washer?) this year. The shift in I felt in my style was mostly minuscule. Less frilly, more firm. Less passive, more pronounced. Less softness, more strength.

Enter: Miss Mondrian. 

I've always loved Piet Mondrian's prints (Heres one I saw in Amsterdam!) They're so simple, yet so thoughtful. The lines are clear, the colors are bold and very recognizable. It's easy to spot a Mondrian from a mile away because they all have such similar structures. Yet upon further investigation, each piece is extremely thoughtful and one of a kind. 

How does this translate to clothes, you might ask?

Statement colors. Straight cuts. Structure. Simplicity. And maybe some shoulder pads? But only time will tell.

Lines, Lashes, Lips and overall...LESS.

The Miss Mondrian starter pack also includes a makeup transformation as well. And mascara is 100% optional (bold red lips are definitely not though.) Like the Mondrian prints, its about creating a clean canvas and then adding small bursts of color without cluttering the canvas. 

I'm excited to implement Miss Mondrian. Since I'll never be Miss America and I'm still too young to audition for The Bachelor...this is the next best thing!

PROJECT PAN

Not Peter Pan or a pan of cookies, today it's all about makeup pans...though I wouldn't be opposed to cookies either!

I'd never call myself a beauty guru. But then again, probably half beauty guru's on youtube probably aren't even worthy of the title either. Most of them are probably just girls like me, girls who enjoy playing around with makeup and enjoy having their zits covered even more.

Even though I've only been wearing makeup for three years (#homeschooled) I've built up a pretty decent stash. Not enough to warrant a makeup collection video, even though it was highly requested ;) (by my dog). But it was big enough to warrant a pan project! Which is great timing actually because the less makeup I have to haul to college, the more I'll be able to buy there ;)

WHAT IS PROJECT PAN?
(I know, you're thinking about cookies again. Me too!)

THE GREAT MAKEUP DEBATE

While staying at a friend's, whose sister is (basically) a professional makeup artist, I flitted into the bathroom as said sister was doing makeup things and casually asked if she would do a cat eye on me.

In other words, would she put more eyeliner on in one swoop than I've had in my entire life?

(by the way, she said yes.)

And then, of course as it would be, at church we had a discussion (with girls! and boys!) about makeup. Which actually first made me self conscious, ragey, then angry, confused, determined and then all those emotions can only lead to one thing: chocolate. After consuming more Hershey kisses than I'd like to admit, I began processing what I felt about this (which may or may not have involved a little lana del ray and, of course, MORE chocolate.

I wrote a blog post as soon as I got home! Then I face timed a friend. And called another. To each I asked, "Do boys really write us off as shallow if we wear makeup?". My friends didn't really know, and neither did the blog post. Darn! That question was at the forefront of my mind for nearly 2 weeks. I even got to the point where I questioned every swipe of mascara. MY MASCARA people. That's like questioning my love for chocolate chips!

Speaking of chocolate, I think I could use some more.

As a Christian girl, it's hard to find the fine, blurry line between looking nice and drawing attention. It's hard to take part in life's simple pleasures (mascara! blush! lipstick!) without feeling overly shallow and self focused. And when you hear it straight out of a guys mouth, that they don't like makeup, they could care less, prefer it when you don't have any on....what does one do?

I prayed, looked up talks on makeup, tried to find scripture that shed light on my questions. 

But my questions were answered at a Pentecostal wedding, of all places.

For those of you (like myself!) who are not familiar with Pentecostal ways, in addition to pew jumping, they also do not wear makeup. I honestly don't think I've EVER seen a group of women completely make up free, and it was refreshing in an unexpected way. Because it reinstated the fact that to me, I wear makeup to enhance my natural beauty, not cover it up. It's an art form, something we girls bond over, a way to express myself. Never ever, to cover or hide what God gave me.

I come to you now, fully assured of my convictions on makeup. But I'm curious, where do you stand?

Some pink for spring! (how unsual!)

I feel like every new season, I need a few refresher makeup items. Granted, need is a relative term, but still! One should never underestimate the powers of a fresh coat of lipstick or a swipe of new nail polish. It's one of life's greatest mysteries how something can simple can totally brighten our moods.

 

In other words, girls are really confusing!

 

Anyway, for spring I was feeling the hot pink. Which is funny because as a pink girl through and through, the amount of hot pink I have is surprisingly small. So of course, I had to remedy that situation! Essies "Mod Squad" (So good!) and a NYX lipstick in "Fig" seemed to do the trick nicely.

 

What colors are you sporting this Spring?