I'm baaack! Sorry for the long hiatus - I didn't expect to be away so long! However, I'm not one to blog unless I have something to say and this week, I happen to have about 55 things to say! Starting today, I will list (in no particular order) 55 of my personal favorites in beauty, fashion, books, art, culture and whatever else strikes my fancy for the fall season. I wanted to do eleven each day, but since today is Tuesday, I'll sneak in twenty-two on a future post. Here are the first eleven:
1. Wrap Dresses - Okay, I love wrap dresses year-round, but I really love them in the fall. Paired
with long, high-heeled boots and I've got a an all-purpose uniform that fits in anywhere without looking like I tried too hard.
2. Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick (top) Sure, the hand cream is a classic, but I love the lip protectant stick too. Believe it or not, I got hooked on it a few years ago not as a freelance beauty writer, but during a brief stint as a fact-checker at a fashion magazine. Sometimes fact-checking is alright...
3. Paint It Black, the new book by Janet Fitch - The author of White Oleander is finally back with her second novel, which follows a woman as she copes with the suicide of her painter boyfriend. She also has to cope with his diva-like concert pianist mother who blames her for his death. White Oleander was a thing of beauty to me, so I know Paint It Black is going to be insanely good. I expect to be up all night with this one.
4. Bésame Cosmetics - A few weeks ago, Bésame sent out samples of their products to beauty bloggers like myself. I received their Vanity Case - a gorgeous golden compact containing concealer, powder, blush, eye shadow and eye liner. However, my favorite is the eye shadow in the compact, Socialite Brown. What I love about this shadow is that it stays put - I dabbed a bit on with my fingers on the train in the morning and twelve hours later on the train home it was still there, looking good. 
5. Seven Guitars (Off Broadway)
- If you missed the original on Broadway, I encourage you to
catch this
version of August Wilson's jewel (directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson) before it closes on October
7th.
6. Janet Jackson's 20 Y.O. Gotta represent for the grown folks that grew up watching Janet on
Good Times - and wore keys on our earrings back in the day. I'm pulling for Janet a little because I remember all too well that, despite the monster success she had in the 80s and 90s, she didn't always get her due. Go 'head Miss Jackson!
7. Coach's Chelsea Pony Satchel - I like the wristlet and the iPod Nano holder too. I keep staring at it and circling it every time I go into Coach. I may end up with the iPod Nano holder as a consolation prize because at $798, the satchel just ain't happening for me right now.
8. The new ABC show Ugly Betty - I played a similar role in the Conde Nast empire in the 90's -
or at least that's what it felt like sometimes. The original
Spanish-language version, Betty La Fea, was a huge hit for years and this one has a few special features that caught my attention: America Ferrera, who played the lead in the great film Real Women Have Curves; Vanessa Williams as the nightmare diva editor and Salma Hayek. I hear she'll turn up in various cameos - and she's also the executive producer. I'll be tuned in...
9. Black Style Now Exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York - While the museum pulls in the masses (and their dollars) to ogle LL Cool J's hat, baggy jeans and other hip hop memorabilia, I'll walk right past that to the real black fashion history: Outfits by Willi Smith, Stephen Burrows, Gordon Henderson and Ann Lowe, the woman who designed Jacqueline Bouvier's wedding gown for her 1953 wedding to a certain senator from Massachusetts. On September 24th, there will be a discussion at the museum about legendary black models, capped off with a tribute to the first black international supermodel, the recently deceased Dorothea Towles Church (pictured.) I am so there...
10. Anthropologie's Mohair Mini Dress
(top) It's a little out there but heck, I'd wear this to work - with
knee high boots and just the right sweater. After work, off with the
sweater and on with the party! (Or drinks! Or the opening!)
11. Knee-high boots - I have to say, boots are one of my favorite things about the fall and winter.
The reason? My big feet! I wear a size 10 (wide!) so finding shoes that fit well, don't hurt my feet and aren't ridiculously expensive
is always a chore. But I rarely have a problem with boots. Love them!
