A Perfect Match

September 28, 20165 Comments

in miss patina

I’ve avoided midi length anything for what feels like ages. I used to absolutely love midi skirts and dresses (any of you that have followed me since the start know this), but at some point minis called to me more and then any time I tried something longer I didn’t like how it looked. So when I decided on this dress I wasn’t really sure how I would feel in it. Aesthetically, and in theory, it’s everything I like in a dress – 70s inspired, a beautiful colour with a fun (matchstick) print, high gathered neckline, pleated voile sleeve cuffs and a flowing skirt – but while it may sound appealing, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will actually be something I am happy and comfortable in. However, I took a chance on it for whatever reason (well actually, for the reasons I listed above) and after twirling about in this fluttery number, I am absolutely sold.

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Sometimes shooting can be aggravating and I walk away dissatisfied. Other times it feels fresh and inspired and I walk away feeling like I made something I am proud of. For this set it was the latter. Naturally I can thank myself for that, but I think it’s also due in part to the dress. Clothes often have this magical way of bringing a part of yourself to the surface that sometimes feels tucked away.

-WHAT I WORE-
Dress c/o Miss Patina | Hat & Belt: vintage | Boots: Zara via CS
Larkspur Vintage | A Perfect Match

Things I Like / 2

September 14, 20161 Comment

favourites roundup!

Well, it’s been a good while since I last shared some of my current favourites with you lot, so I figured it was due time I do another little roundup of some stuff I’m into or have been doing. So let’s get to it, shall we?!

Larkspur Vintage | Things I Like #2

TAKE NOTE.

For the better part of my life I’ve been writing. Before I started this blog I had another blog, sort of like an online diary – very different from this space – where I would write a ton. Before that, I had a LiveJournal, and before that, an actual diary. I’ve never really considered myself a writer, but I’ve always written. However, since starting this space several years ago I don’t write near as much. Well, I do write, actually, a lot, but it’s not the same type of writing. So I have recently made an effort to put actual pen to paper and write just a few sentences on a single page, whenever a thought comes to mind. I’ve been enjoying it so far, so hopefully I keep up with it. Not sure what I’ll do with it…maybe share it one day…

disco fever

I mean, it is certainly no secret that I love all things 70s – the fashion, the music, the dancing – and I grew up watching Saturday Night Fever/Staying Alive, so it’s a bit weird that I didn’t jump right into watching The Get Down as soon as it came out. It should have been an obvious choice for me – Baz Luhrmann and disco meets hiphop? Yes please! Anyway, I did get into it, and I fell in love with it. It’s theatrical, fast paced and brilliant the way you’d expect anything to be with Baz Luhrmann’s name on it. If you’re looking for something new to watch, I highly suggest it. The fashion alone will pull you in.

Bath time

Certainly another unsurprising thing for me… baths! But, since it’s been Summer, I haven’t really been taking many the way I did in the previous colder months. I mean, who really wants to get into a warm bath when you are sweating? However, theres been a bit of reprieve from the humidity and heat since September began, so I decided to get back into my bath routine, and ahhh how I missed it! I usually light some candles (nice smelling ones if I have them on hand), add some Lush products (which I am running very low on now) and put on something I really enjoy watching (which is usually YouTube or a current show I am into). If I’m having a bad day, this is one of my go-tos. It never ceases to make me feel better.

Larkspur Vintage | Things I Like #2

sorbet nails

I’m going to be honest, Sally Hansen Miracle Gel nail polish does not work as well as it purports to. It claims to be more chip-resistant than regular nail polish with it’s no light gel system and top coat, but my nails definitely chipped the day after applying. But, whatever, I’m not a stickler for that sort of thing (maybe you are though)…colour matters more to me, and these two colours, Malibu Peach and Electra Cute are gorgeous! The color pay off is great with only two coats and it’s getting me out of my red nail polish comfort zone. Not sure that I will continue to buy this polish the way I do with OPI and Essie, but I def am into the shades, so we shall see.

butter me up

I am absolutely a NYX convert. Everything I have received or purchased from them I have loved. And bonus, you can buy at the drugstore, which is important to me since I don’t live close to any department stores or high street makeup shops and don’t enjoy trekking somewhere just to buy makeup…but I digress. Since I loved the NYX Butter Gloss so much, I decided to try out their Butter Lipstick in the shade Fizzies and it’s the perfect thing for every day wear. It keeps my lips feeling hydrated while adding a little life to them. Definitely would recommend if matte lipsticks are too drying for you, but you don’t love glosses.

Beauty: Styling a 60s does 20s Messy Bob

August 31, 2016August 31, 20164 Comments

Yes, I got a haircut…

I realized I forgot to mention that here! I did share my haircut (that I got a couple weeks ago, actually) on insta and snapchat (pushyspence), but not all of you may follow me there, so it was a bit silly of me not to share it here as well. Better late than never I guess.

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I thought today I would also share with you one of the ways I have been styling my bob. It’s funny, you’d think having short hair would be less maintenance, but actually, it’s been more maintenance, at least for me. I did very little to my long hair each day – I could always just get up and go – but now I have to do something to it or (like my boyfriend lovingly called it) it will look like “mom hair”. Prior to getting this haircut, I had pinned and looked at tons of images of gals with the cut I wanted so I would be able to reference that when styling it myself. Because really, you can ask for a haircut from an image, but you certainly cannot expect it to look that way unless you learn to style it. So this is one of the ways I have been styling it, which is a traditional 60s does 20s bob style, but a bit more messy because sleek hair scares me. Larkspur Vintage | Beauty: Styling a 60s does 20s Bob Pre-style: Because I have pretty straight hair that doesn’t love to do anything (except the opposite of what I want it to do), I have to will it a bit to get that dishevelled look. To make my hair more malleable and tousled looking, I spray some salt water spray (well this one is actually a salt-infusion…whatever that means) evenly throughout my damp or dry hair. Salt water spray just helps to give you that kind of beachy feel and look to your hair. Larkspur Vintage | Beauty: Styling a 60s does 20s Bob Styling: Parts of my hair do actually naturally curl into my face, but other parts don’t, and since I’m not all that good with a round brush/blow dryer combo and since I don’t wash my hair everyday, I’ve been using my flat iron to get my desired look. Sadly, my amazing flat iron that was given to me as a gift like 11 years ago (thanks Mel!) finally bit the dust last week (it was honestly so good! it lasted 11 years for goodness sakes!!), so I went out to the drugstore, doing very little research, and bought the Chi Air Expert – it has been working well so far, but I doubt it will be 11 years working well. Anyways! I seriously digress! Styling! Parting my hair and starting with the bottom layer, I take a section of hair, pull my iron down it and guide it towards my face at the bottom. I do this all around my head, pulling down a new section, until everything looks nice and curled into my face. I still style my fringe this way, so I won’t repeat that here. Tip! Make sure to only start turning your iron toward your face near the bottom, otherwise your going to have much too much of a mushroom look. Unless that’s what you want. It’s your life, of course. Do what you want! Larkspur Vintage | Beauty: Styling a 60s does 20s Bob Finishing touches: At this point my hair is pretty sleek looking (oOoOo scary!) since flat irons have a tendency to make everything look perfecto, which is both a curse and a blessing, really. So from there I’ve been using a matte hair wax (which is Zach’s and I don’t remember the name. Sorry!) or this Fructis matte cream (that is branded as surf hair, which I find annoying, but I still bought it, so you tell me!). I use a little of the wax or cream, rub it into my fingertips to warm it up and then twist parts of the end of my hair with it, tousling it here and there, all throughout my hair (like a Dr. Seuss rhyme, apparently)…this is where you can manipulate your hair the way you want to achieve your desired messy look. Larkspur Vintage | Beauty: Styling a 60s does 20s Bob And, c’est fini! Surprisingly, this doesn’t take all that long. The other way I have been styling my hair (which I will share later) takes a little longer, so I’ve been doing this one more frequently.

Do you have a bob? Tell me the ways you have been styling it! Thinking of getting a bob? Tell me about that too, in the comments below, as always 🙂

Beauty: Current Favourite Lip Products

August 18, 20167 Comments

GIVIN’ YOU LIP

This summer I’ve been steering away from bright red lips and have since replaced them with light pinks, nudes and softer reds. I still love bright classic reds and and my all time fav, orangey reds, but this summer’s makeup has been about a fresh, natural face and with that, softer lips. I thought I’d share my favourite lip colours at the moment, one of which I have already spoken about here, but still love as much as the day I got it, so it’s worth mentioning in this roundup.

Larkspur Vintage | Current Favourite Lip Products NYX butter gloss: Peaches & Cream
I’ve pretty much avoided glosses since, well, always. The ones I had used just made my lips sticky and didn’t have much pigment to them. I started to feel like, what the eff is the point of glosses? To make my hair stick to my lips. Ya no thnx. But once I tried NYX’s butter glosses (I have a couple other shades, but this is by far my fav), I was a convert. I love this gloss – it isn’t overly sticky and has an excellent coral pink pigment. I haven’t ventured much into the gloss department, so I’m sure there are tons of similar products out there with great pigment and little stickyness. You should tell me about them, maybe. Larkspur Vintage | Current Favourite Lip Products Teeez Cosmetics Sealed with a Kiss Lipduo: Dash of Plum
I was introduced to this cosmetic brand when they reached out to have me try a few of their products, and with such adorable packaging (and who doesnt like getting free makeup?) I thought why the heck not?! Indeed a true plum shade, which is more suited to the colder seasons, but what I have been doing is dabbing a slight bit onto my lips and then rubbing it in with my finger to give a more natural, however, much more alive look to my lips. I will say this liplacquer is quite drying, so I have been applying it with a lip balm to offset the drying effect it seems to have. Larkspur Vintage | Current Favourite Lip Products Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid: Nude Flush
This is the bb I have talked about before, but it has remained a fav all this time, so why not mention her again? It’s a perfect nude shade that is incredibly wearable, so for those who don’t like anything too eye-catching, it’s probably the perfect shade for you. It is slightly drying, but I think it’s hard to avoid and something I have come to expect from a matte, so I forgive her.

*some or all of these products were sent to me as a gift from the brand, but me choosing to talk about them is because I actually like them

Beauty: 3 Easy Hairstyles For A Sweaty Head

August 8, 20162 Comments

HOW TO KILL A SWEAT MONSTER

I don’t know about your summer, but mine has been real sweaty! I had no intention of letting my hair grow as long as it has, but with many scheduling issues trying to book a haircut and lets be honest, pure laziness, my hair has become a huge source of heat, warming my already warm self on hot days. To prevent from becoming too, what I like to call, heangry (heat angry), I need to wear it off my neck and/or forehead a lot of the time, so I’m going to show you three of the easiest and most common hairstyles I have been wearing when I am in desperate need of a quick forehead/neck cool down. These are by no means hairstyles you haven’t seen before, but I think it’s quite easy to end up just throwing your hair into a topknot because it’s fast and relatively simple, however, imho, these styles are just as fast and certainly as simple, so why not try something different next time you find yourself becoming a sweat monster. HERE WE GO!

Larkspur Vintage | Beauty: 3 Easy Hairstyles for a Sweaty Head The Pippi: We can only assume Ms. Longstocking was v chilled down all the time; You’ve all seen pigtails, you’ve all seen braids. No explanation needed. Neck cooled, instantly.

Larkspur Vintage | Beauty: 3 Easy Hairstyles for a Sweaty Head A No-Braider: something that requires or involves little or no mental effort…which is is the definition of no-brainer, but is quite a fitting explanation for this hairstyle as well; I’m going to be honest, I don’t know how to do one of those trendy fishtail braids, and no one has time for that when they are in desperate need of sweat relief anyway. Why not try a simple braid in the back, takes no time (well, a little time) and looks just fine messy and a bit wonky.
Larkspur Vintage | Beauty: 3 Easy Hairstyles for a Sweaty Head Cinnabun Minibun: This style is certainly hot like a tasty mini cinnabon atm, but not in the literal sense (cooled down is theme here afterall); Yes, this style is v trendy right now, but let’s be real, when you want the hair off your face while still showing off your luscious locks, its the ultimate style. Little tip: if you aren’t a bun master or your hair is thick like mine, fake bun it! On your last pony tail loop, pull your hair through only a bit forming a “samurai” bun. Much faster and honestly holds better than a true bun for you thick haired folks.

Tell me about your sweaty head go-to hairstyles in the comments below! Will you be trying any of these?

Thanks to all the cuties who gave name suggestions for these hairstyles! Was so nice and fun to read all your great ideas! Love you all!

okay andie

sharing vulnerability and wearing clothes

Tag: toronto beauty blogger

A Perfect Match

in miss patina

Things I Like / 2