Spring Trend: Peplum Tops

How I love feminine trends!  Peplum tops are popping up everywhere this spring.  They're so versatile as far as what body types they flatter as they define the waistline, which is universally slimming and flirty.  I'm alsovpretty sure they help give a little "oomph" to the rear end, to which I say, "Yes, please!"  

I really this top demands red lipstick, something every girl should have.  I have a small addiction to buying red lip products: lipstick, gloss, balm, stain, you name it.  The one I have on in these photos is one of Revlon's new Lip Butters in Candy Apple.  I'd definitely recommend to someone who was a little shy about lipstick or trying red for the first time.  Its sheer with a little bit of shine and forgiving if you accidentally color outside of the lines a little, no lip liner needed.  I wouldn't call it long-wearing, but I don't have to apply it any more than I would normal lip balm.  Its a great everyday lip color and I love it a little more every time I wear it.

What I'm Wearing:

Peplum Polka Dot Tee: H&M

Skinny Jeans: Forever 21

Black Flats: American Eagle

I'm very excited for Spring weather and Spring trends.  Every few days, we get a clear blue sky that makes you want to go for a walk in the park.  Its still a bit chilly for that, though, unfortunately.  The Writer is in Florida visiting family and making me jealous of all the sunshine he's enjoying.  This year is the first time ever that I will be able to go on a paid vacation and I'm thinking that I may want to cash in on that soon.  I haven't been at my job a very long time, but it has been a busy few months that have made me very ready for the weather to thaw out and to enjoy some vacation time.  Sometimes it feels like I'm going a million miles an hour with no routine, since my work is open seven days a week.  Today is like my Sunday and I'm so thankful for some "me time"to catch up on magazines and get ahead on my laundry piles.

Review: Arbonne Eyeliner

A few of my girlfriends have been bitten by the Arbonne bug.  One of them has been selling these vegan products for about two months now, and another, A, has just been signed up as a consultant.  I attended A's first Arbonne get-together, which was slightly similar to a Mary Kay party, this past week and, I admit, I'm intrigued by the products.

I won a contest for a free product from the presenter's goodie bag and chose a retractable stick of black eyeliner.  As a former Mary Kay consultant, I'm skeptical of multi-level marketing programs and the products they offer.  I was interested in Arbonne's claims to be all-natural, mineral oil-free, and environmentally responsible.  Those claims are all well and good, but if the products don't match up, I'm not interested.

I have a love/hate relationship with most eye makeup.  I think it's probably the oiliness of my skin that makes it slide right off, but I feel like I'm always wiping away raccoon eyes.  I can almost never pull off a dramatic eye look that includes liner on my bottom lashes, because it will usually be halfway down my face in a matter of minutes.

This is what my eye looked like after wearing Arbonne eyeliner in "Ebony" for a whole day. I applied it around 9 AM with Urban Decay's eye shadow primer over my upper lids to prevent the oil from my skin from pulling the pigments into my eyelid crease.  I was most interested in how it would hold up on my lower lash line. I applied a thin line, right at the base of my lashes.  I used mascara on my upper lashes only, so that I would have a better idea of where the raccoon eyes were coming from, if they popped up later.

I took this slightly creepy photo of my own eyeball after I'd gotten home from church and a shift at my retail job at the mall.  The shadow under my eye is just that, a shadow.  As far as I could tell, there was no smearing or smudging from my new eyeliner.

I've also been trying out some samples of Arbonne's face wash/toner combo product, oil-mattifying day lotion, and night cream that my consultant friends gave me.  I've notice that the products, which are formulated for combination/oily skin, have reduced my skin's natural sheen, which is a very good thing.  Overall, I am satisfied and pleased with my Arbonne experience thus far.

Review: The Carrie Diaries

Last weekend, The Writer and I were meandering through Target and I decided I wanted a new book to read. I've been working on the classics, but I wanted one of those girly novels that I don't have to concentrate very hard to get through.  I found The Carrie Diaries and thought it would be perfect, since I am admittedly obsessed with Sex and the City.

While I admit I didn't finish reading Candace Bushnell's original Sex and the City due to the fact that I found SJP's Carrie much more lovable than her original portrayal, I don't see many links between the Carrie of The Carrie Diaries and the Carrie of the TV series.  I'd thought that, since The Carrie Diaries had been published after the story had been made popular through television and cinema, the "prequel" would fit into that story line. It does not.

First of all, "The Carrie Diaries" has Carrie and her two younger sisters being raised by her father after her mother has passed away.  In Season 4, I believe, Carrie's editor at Vogue (the one who surprised her in the Vogue Closet in his briefs) asks Carrie about her father and Carrie replies, "There's not much to tell...He skipped out on my mom and me when I was pretty young." She is then shown peeking at an antique photo of her and her father that she keeps in a copy of Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.

Next, in Season 5, Carrie reunites with her high school boyfriend, Jeremy, who is seeking mental health treatment in Connecticut.  "Jeremy" is no where to be found in The Carrie Diaries.  Throughout the series, Carrie mentions at least one other high school boyfriend, as well.  The Carrie of TCD has one boyfriend, Sebastian, with whom she does not have sex with. In fact, she states multiple times that she is still a virgin and spends a good amount of time whining about how everyone else is "doing it."

In TCD, Carrie talks about cooking at home from Julia Child's cookbook to provide stability for her younger sister.  I'm fairly certain Carrie never mentions siblings in the series.  She also "stores sweaters in [her] oven," "Triscuits from the mid-80's," and "an old bottle of Kahlua, somewhere."  She loves that Aiden and Big cook. That doesn't sound like someone who'd make coq au vin in high school, does it?

I don't buy the whole swim team/diving thing. I just don't. At the end of TCD, Carrie has been accepted to Brown and many of her classmates were heading for Ivy League schools.  The valedictorian of my graduating class tried to get into Brown, and failed.  Maybe it is massively different if you are the daughter of an alumnus, as the Carrie of TCD is purported to be.  Aside from that, Carrie never specifically mentions her education in the TV series, but again, Brown?!

In one of the earlier seasons, Carrie is held up at gunpoint and robbed of her bag, jewelry, and Manolos.  She says she's never been mugged before, but in TCD, her purse is lifted almost immediately upon arrival.  Also, she contacts Samantha Jones, a cousin of a high school acquaintance who's in advertising, as a last resort after having her bag stolen.  The second SATC movie states that she met Samantha while Samantha was bartending at CBGB.  The second movie also has Miranda as the first of her three friends that she connects with.

There are many, many more inconsistencies that turned me off to the book.  Nor did I find certain aspects of it believable, such as Carrie's grasp on her sexuality as a seventeen year old.  If you read it without expecting the HBO Carrie, it's a quick and easy read.  I read it in a single afternoon.

I understand differences between the original book and the TV series/movies, but once the show and movies have gained such popularity, you'd think Ms. Bushnell would think to collaborate with the stories that people are most familiar with.  I was disappointed.

Grade: D