ClandestineChic

So I’ve been on a massive hunt for the perfect pair of booties in the last couple of weeks. The thing is, I don’t want to spend a ton of money on them, because I already have a pair of boots that I’m pretty much in love with forever. In my search, I’ve found a few pairs of booties and boots that are reasonably priced and cute at Lulus.com. I’d never been to the site before, but they had some pretty nice styles for a reasonable price. Here are some of my choices.

Booties at Lulus.com for $34,99

Another pair of booties at Lulus.com for $56.99

Knee High Boots at Lulus.com for $44.00

Boots with buckles on the side. $47.00 at Lulus.com

I’ve been a fan of Alexander McQueen since I was a wee teenager.  I poured over magazines and searched for any article I could find about the man.  Every season, his show is one of the first I look forward once images are ready.

I do not have a McQueen piece in my closet, not even his famous skull scarf. I always said that if I bought a Mcqueen piece, it’d be from his RTW line.  But now, I am excited as it has been announced that he is going to be producing a line for Target that will launch in March 2009. Everything is going to be priced under $129.99. I’m hoping that I will like the line he produces since many of the diffusion lines from Target are either hit or miss with me.

Here are just a few of my favorite McQueen creations(there are  more, but I can’t post them all!)

pictures from Style.com:

As I am getting older, I’ve been paying attention to details in my lifestyle and beauty regimens and what I need to do to better take care of myself.   This includes one of my biggest peeves: under eye circles.  There really isn’t anything I can do about them since they are genetic.  My father has them and his mother had them.  I think her mother had them them as well.   It’s just something that I’ve (unwillingly) inherited.  Throughout the years, I’ve spent countless dollars trying to find the one under eye cream that would work for them.   Of course, some creams declared that they got rid of the dark circles forever.  Others only promised that they could fade them, but when I tried it, my circles were still there and sometimes even more prominent than before.  Or else, I’d wake up with dry and itchy eyes.

Now I’m at peace with my cream that attempts to reduce the appearance of the dark circles.  It is Boscia Enlivening Amino-AG Eye Treatment.  The price is right and the appearance of the circles has been reduced.  I also love how the products are preservative-free and the cream has no scent.  This also means no dry and itchy eyes!

A friend recommended this book to me after I told her that I was ready to give myself a mini-life makeover.  I told her that I wasn’t ready for a “self-help” book yet, but she told me that I should check it out and I’d probably think of the book as anything but self-help.  Now, I see why she liked it so much.  Written by former Honey magazine editor-in-chief Amy Dubois Barnett,  this book definitely provides a boost of inspiration.   Honey magazine was probably my favorite magazine as a teenager and I was very sad to see it fold.  I read Teen People for awhile once she took the post there as well.   Once she left Teen People, I wasn’t sure what had become of Ms. Barnett, but to my surprise, she wrote this book.

Her chronicles of her life as she was raised by a single mother who passed away way too soon and her bouts with unhappiness with just about everything in life from her boyfriend to her first job out of college would definitely keep some people straddled down and depressed.   Ms. Barnett however, lifted herself up and moved on and found happiness and she explains how she did it.  The book also provides interviews at the end of each chapter with celebrities and nice quizzes.

The book was a quick read and I won’t say that it changed my life or led me to any “awakening”, but it gave some much needed positive reinforcement.  When you feel like you’re going through a slump like Ms. Barnett and you are giving yourself a pity-party, she reminds you how you can just shake it off and go out there and “get yours”.

Genevieve Jones.

I can’t say that I am a big fan of everything that she wears, but I will admit that I still find most of her style choices to be interesting. People are always interested as to how she has managed to be labeled a “socialite”, but however she got to where she is, it looks like she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Some may call her style boring or typical of the New York social scene, but I do think that she always manages to add some type of twist in her style. Here are some of my favorite looks:

I turned 25 about two months ago. To even type that is kind of jarring right now. But it is the truth. Anywho, in my life time I have witnessed many historical events. Even more, I’ve seen more non-talent musical artists come and go than I would like to admit. So far, I’ve lived a fairly quiet life and I haven’t had much drama.

However, I’m looking at 25 as an age that I need to start looking toward the future and figuring out what I want to do and what changes I want to make.  These will be big decisions and small decisions and that will mean changes will have to be made.  I don’t care for change.  At all.  So even cutting people out of my life that would be considered toxic is a big step for me, even if it’s for the better.   However, now I do think that I am ready to make some big changes in my life and I’m ready to move forward and stop looking back.

I am ready to stop and smell the roses and let all negativity roll off my back.  I’m ready to stop caring what people think about me and know that I don’t have to have people involved in my life unless I want them to be.  You’d think that I would have learned all much earlier than 25, and I’ve learned it.  I just haven’t put it into practice.

But now I think I am ready.

So today was supposed to be my much anticipated (as it is every week) “wash day”. And I don’t mean for clothes, either. It’s the day that I use a better part of my day focusing on washing, conditioning and styling my hair. It became a weekly tradition once I decided that I wouldn’t go to salons as much as I used to. My reasoning for not going to the salon? I didn’t have a steady stylist that I could see all of the time and I have certain products that I like to use in my own hair. Plus, I can take that money and put it to much better use–preferably leaving it in the bank.

With my wash day, I usually start in the early afternoon and I don’t finish until nighttime where I always wrap my hair up in my satin scarf to hold the style until the morning. Here are my steps:

• Pre-shampoo hair with a protein conditioner and extra virgin olive oil. I can do this the night before up until the morning of my wash day.
• Shampoo my hair in the shower with a gentle shampoo.
• Add conditioner while still in the shower and use my Denman brush to brush it through.
• Put my bonnet over my hair and sit with the conditioner on for about 30 minutes.
• Wash out the conditioner and use a leave-in conditioner.

And then the routine can change depending on whether I’m wearing my hair straight or curly.  I’m natural and I have been natural for about 5 years now (one day, I’ll write a post about my journey), so I love the ability to choose how to wear my hair depending on what I’m feeling.  If I wear it straight, I can opt for a roller set or a blow dry–as damaging as that can be.  If I wear it natural, then I can do twists and twists outs or braid outs.

Here are some of the tools/products that I use:

My Denman brush--picture from Folica.com

Devacurl Low Poo

Lacio Lacio Leave-In Conditioner

Ever since I’ve heard of American Apparel a few years back, I’ve always been on the fence about the store and clothing. The advertising has always…for a lack of better word, disturbed me. I’m not even talking about the provocative poses of the women that model for the store, either. The whole throwback to the 80’s/hi theme isn’t always my cup of tea. Plus, whenever I go into the store, I always receive less than stellar customer service. Maybe it’s supposed to go with AA’s “laid back” approach, but you can say hi!

Something always keeps me going in there. I’m a pretty basic girl at heart when it comes to clothing and AA, although their basics aren’t the cheapest or the best quality, they get the job done. I went in the other day and got a couple of goodies that I can’t wait to start sporting out.

First is this dress:

Picture from American Apparel website

Since Winter is nearing, I’m going to pair it with some nice tights and I’ll wear a short sleeve top underneath. I think it’ll be great for going out.

And my other purchase is the newly loved circle scarf:

Picture from American Apparel website

So many ways to wear it and so much confusion. I’ll admit, the scarf was much larger than I’d ever imagined and I was taken aback. I can’t wait to try it out and wear it as a shawl or a dress and/or skirt.

So this is my first post on this blog.   Hopefully, this will be my little place of the web to carve out and express thoughts on whatever comes to mind.  Pop culture, fashion, travel, the city of Chicago and everything in between.

I always wanted a blog, but I felt like everyone had one and there would be nothing that I could say that would be any different.  But looking back, I don’t really care anymore if I’m sharing an opinion on the same topic like twenty thousand other bloggers.  This is going to be my space to share what I want and I hope anyone who reads this will enjoy and stick around.