The Good Typist Goes Glam!

There is an adorable little vintage boutique just down the street from our apartment called Lemon Drop that I was certain was going to go belly-up within six months when it first opened. Lo and behold, it has lasted fifteen years, weathered the pandemic and is still going strong. I don’t visit very often, but I have popped in there a handful of times over the years when I was looking for something specific. Today on my way back from the gym, I saw that they were having a sidewalk sale and a few things caught my eye, so I stopped to browse and chat with the owner, who is a delightful, tall, artistic lady. I was enamored of a vintage black-and-white tunic/mini dress, an item that is completely unlike me to be drawn to. But it was very cute and we both almost simultaneously agreed it would look great with tights and boots. Her dressing room was closed for renovation, but I had mentioned previously that I lived just down the block, and she suggested that I take it home and try it on, then come back and pay for it if I decided to keep it, or return it if I didn’t. I tried it on and I loved it. It’s not my normal style but I thought it was really jazzy. So I trundled back down the street to pay for it, and in addition to that, bought two other items—a 50’s style brown dress with pink polka dots, and a soft, sophisticated gray sleeveless blouse that is very versatile. We both thought the brown dress would be a little too big, but it actually fit perfectly. I almost never find anything that suits me in vintage shops, so I was delighted by this mini-haul. My purchases were immediately followed by a photo shoot courtesy of Mr. Typist, who patiently waited while I changed into each outfit with the accompanying jewelry. Here are the pics:

Forgive my goofy smile and the lack of make up: In other glamour news, I threw out all of my eyeliner this week in a fit of frustration and am now going minimal until I can sort out my makeup game. The air quality in Seattle has been really bad lately, and my eye make-up has been irritating me beyond belief. It came to a head this week and I just couldn’t take it any more. For a time, years ago, I was ordering makeup from a company called “Just for Redheads” that sold make-up specifically geared to our unique coloring and skin tone, including ginger-colored mascara, which was revolutionary for me at the time. If I recall, at one point, the quality of their goods suddenly and drastically dropped, and I stopped buying from them. I took another look at their website this week, and will probably go ahead and order a few things as a test. Maybe they got back on their game again after a few years. I may go back to neutral-only and stick with a brown/taupe palette, although a lot of women comment on how they like my bold-colored, blue, green and purple eyeliners. As cranky as I get about the chore of plastering my face with artificial coloring, I really do love make-up and the amazing effects it can have.

The other thing I looked into was something that annoyingly keeps popping up on my Facebook ads (obviously they think I’m old) for something called Boomstick. I am very skeptical of this Boomstick situation, even after watching a few videos. It purports to be one-shade-fits-all, which I do not believe for a second, and it requires quite a lot of rubbing and finger-blending, which wierds me out a little after having been screamed at for the last two and half years to never, ever touch our faces. I might try it, though. The other thing I am trying to fin now that there seem to be no Sephora stores anymore is a magical little vial of light cream that actually delivered on its promise to even out one’s skin tone. Somehow it really worked, so well that I didn’t even feel the need for a powder foundation half the time. I remember it also felt really soothing and light on my face, which I appreciated. I can’t remember the name of it, but it came in a tube and it looked like green, pink, and beige soft-serve ice cream in an artful little swirl pattern. If that sounds familiar to any of you, please comment or message me on Facebook.

Well, there it is, my fashion-and-glamour post for the year, which I write while bare-faced and wearing hiking pants and a tank top. In honor of glamorous me, enjoy this video of hairstylist-turned-comedian Kallmekris reviewing Tiktoc hair fails:

—Kristen McHenry