I’ll be so sad to leave this community – my colleagues, my professors, my coworkers – people who inspired me, pushed me to work harder. People who encouraged me to do things I’d never tried before, for better or for worse. I only hope I can continue to find the same inspiration and the same motivation to create art without all of this invaluable support that I have been so privileged to have for the past few years.

When I graduated from high school and registered at Loyola University Chicago as a computer science major, I never guessed that several years later I’d be graduating from the University of North Texas, Denton with an art degree. If there’s one thing I learned from college, it’s that nothing is ever set in stone. Plans change. We change. We must remain open-minded and ready to adapt to our ever-evolving futures.

I’m still trying to orient myself to the post-college life: applying for jobs, looking for new apartments, looking at graduate schools; however, my biggest priority when all of this is over is to recover all of the sleep I’ve lost this semester. I seriously pulled four all-nighters the other week!

But since it’s not over yet, I’m going to sign off from this last post as an undergraduate to go work on my last art pieces and study for my last final exam. Wish me luck!

There’s something terribly romantic about owning a pair of shoes from the oldest operating French fashion house — it’s almost like owning a piece of history. When I saw these Lanvin shoes at the Garance Doré presentation in Dallas last fall, I fell in love. The tuxedo shape feels androgynous, but the satin bow makes it just quirky and girly enough. The plush leather lining of the shoe is so comfortable and luxurious; if I weren’t scared of ruining these shoes, I’m pretty sure I’d wear them every day. (And of course, the box is beautiful enough on its own!)

Patent bow loafer by Lanvin (here & here)

There seems to be a belief within the lingerie community (at least when I worked in it) that a woman’s bra should match her panties. But as a broke college student addicted to lingerie, it seems unreasonable to splurge on matching sets every time I buy underwear. Plus, given the cosmic law that all underwear eventually turns into period underwear, I hate spending more than $10 on any pair of panties. Consequently, I’m a huge believer in mixing and matching underwear, and Aerie’s stock of undies in every color makes it easy. (I even found a pair to match my merlot-hued Lonely Hearts bra).

I pined after the above Mimi Holliday bra for several months, and when the Outnet stocked it on sale in my size, I bought it immediately. It looks cute with just about every single brightly-colored pair of undies that I own.

Although I’m sure the stress and amount of all-nighters I’ve pulled this semester have taken years off of my life, these past few months have been very rewarding. Although I formally study oil painting, I’ve dedicated the past semester to exploring different mediums, particularly photography, relief print, fibers, and sculpture (found), and I’ve been so lucky to have a couple of amazing painting professors who have been incredibly supportive of this transition.

My latest series (part of which is pictured above) explores what Simone de Beauvoir calls “The Lolita Syndrome” in her famous essay on Brigitte Bardot (I highly recommend it, though it’s pretty difficult to get a hold of). According to Beauvoir, the Lolita is a sexually-liberated female archetype who embodies youth (whether or not she is technically underage) through her unrefined mannerisms, tousled hair, bare feet, and indifference towards morality. Although Simone de Beauvoir argues that this image is empowering (she was writing in a time where women were expected to conform to very strict codes of behavior), the idea of Lolita can likewise enable problematic behavior. The sexual health of young women is a taboo subject, and even talking about it is nearly as difficult as actually navigating puberty. My art is interested in exploring the tension between good sexual health and bad sexual health in young women, as well as exploring the language with which we raise, describe, and treat them. The above dresses, titled Insolence #1 and #2, are constructed out of tulle and satin to emphasize the ephemeral and vulnerable nature of youth.

Even typing this entry I’m setting myself super behind on a project that I have due tomorrow, so sorry if this seems rushed – I just wanted to check in before April ended! I graduate in two weeks, so it won’t be long before I pick up posting regularly again.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite beauty items that I haven’t been able to live without lately. From left to right:

• Josie Maran argain oil — I’d heard everyone raving about this oil, and since I’ve been having dryness, fine lines, and radiance problems, I thought I’d try it out. After about a week, I noticed a reduction in fine lines around my eyes and mouth, and it leaves my skin totally supple. I usually mix in 3-4 drops with my moisturizer, though some nights I’ll apply 6-8 drops directly on my face for a more intense treatment. I highly recommend picking up a small bottle of this to try out! Apparently it works really well for hair and nails too.
• Clinique Dramatically Different moisturizing gel — I’m still not completely sold on this gel (or the same moisturizing lotion). The only reason I continue to use it is with the Josie Maran oil, otherwise it doesn’t feel moisturizing enough. Since I have pretty dry skin, I imagine this lotion would be great for people with more oily skin. I bought it because I can only use tube or pump moisturizers, and the packaging for this one fits the bill.
• Bamboo smooth Kendi oil dry mist — Great for hair. I have hair oil from Shu Uemura (and apparently argan oil can be used for hair as well), but the spray bottle format is much more convenient to work with because it doesn’t grease up your hands. When my hair is feeling dry, I just lightly mist the ends as needed and then brush out with my fingers. It gives it a nice luster and makes it feel soft and smooth.
• Tarte BB primer — This is my first “bb cream” ever. I use quotations here because it isn’t really a bb cream, it’s what Tarte calls a BB “primer,” which is more descriptive of what it actually does. The texture is soft and velvety, and it mattifies while reducing the appearance of pores. It has 30 SPF (always a plus in my book), and offers sheer coverage. I don’t like wearing a lot of foundation during the day, so this works perfectly. If you prefer more coverage though, you might have to layer a foundation on top of this. I’m almost done with my sample and I’m interested in trying the Bobbi Brown BB cream – anyone have any thoughts on it?
• NARS Illuminator in Copacabana — I am in LOVE with this luminizer. Seriously – it makes me excited to put on makeup every day. This is really great for highlighting; it brightens skin while leaving a dewy glow. It looks great over foundation or on naked skin. I love it!
• NARS Mini Bronzing/Blush Duo in Orgasm/Laguna — Given the high price tag of NARS cosmetics, this mini bronzing/blush duo comes in the perfect size and price if you’ve been itching to try their products without committing to a single blush shade for $30. Orgasm and Laguna are both beautiful colors with a little bit of gold glitter in them to add a rich glow to your cheeks.

I’m heading to New Orleans for spring break to visit family, so if I’m quiet for the next few days, it’s because I’m stuffing my face with beignets at Café du Monde.

Last month, I’d spent a few weeks pining for a pair of Keds shoes. One of my girl friends had a pair, and I just loved how simple and cute they looked, almost like a casual ballet flat. So it was quite serendipitous when Lookbook offered me a pair to contribute to their Keds campaign. I couldn’t resist! I picked out a pair in coral, which felt right for spring. They’re comfy, springy, and offer great arch support (for fellow high-archers that have trouble finding sneakers). I’m in love!

Wearing a J.Crew cable sweater, One Teaspoon shorts, Keds shoes, and Juicy Couture sunglasses

If my absence has been any indication, this semester has been killing me. In addition to finishing up my last semester of my undergrad, I’ve also been applying to teach English abroad in Japan. Late last month, I received an e-mail that I’d been given an interview with the Japanese government’s teaching exchange program, something I didn’t expect at all. Last week, I packed up and headed down to Houston for my interview – more on that later!

All I can say is, I can’t wait for Spring Break (2 more weeks)!

Modeled by my lovely friend Sydnee

Hope you’re all doing well~ ♥

After a few late nights of bleaching and color experimentation, my sister finally dyed her hair pastel blue. Of course, her office job won’t allow unnatural hair color, so there was a bit of color removal drama at around 10pm last night. The pictures she has up on her blog now are from her first full-head trial, but she decided to go bolder the second time around. I love the color!

I threw my hair up in a bun with a bow from Rob & Sioux. You might remember it from this post.

I love this mini Crystal Skull vodka vial that one of my friends gave me for Christmas. Can’t wait to drink it!

Bunny was absolutely livid when I put her sweater on her; she hates wearing clothes. I wish you could make gifs on Instagram because she was shaking with anger. Sadly she’s just too little to generate enough body heat to ward off the cold, though.

One more shot of my leopard print coat – featured in this post and available on eBay from this seller.

Perhaps this will come a bit late for east-coasters (and the rest of the world, really), but I wanted to get one more post in before the New Year. For those of you who still don’t know how you’re going to style your hair for tonight, or just for those who plan on having a party-filled 2013, here’s a perfect party hair style: the messy side chignon. Inspired by Emma Stone’s messy side bun, I wanted a slightly messy hairstyle that wouldn’t look too limp after a few hours of wear.

Step 1: Curl your hair using the barrel of a 1″ curling iron. (If your hair is already curly, you can skip this step). The important thing is for your hair to have volume towards the top of your head/

Step 2 (Optional): If you’re like me and don’t like using hairspray, use metal clips to pin your hot curls to your head until they cool off. This will make your curls more bouncy, and will help them last longer.

Step 3: Remove clips. Do not comb through curls.

Step 4: Put your hair in a low side ponytail behind your ear. You can use a small rubber band here; I used a large one so that you could see it better. Leave the hair around your face down – you will pin it back in a minute.

Step 5: Twist your ponytail into a bun and bobby pin. You should use bobby pins similar to your hair color, but I’m using dark ones to show you how I pinned it.

Step 6: Take some of the hair from the front of your face and loosely wrap it around the bun, pinning more. There isn’t a right way to do this, just play with it. Leave a few thin strands around your face.

Step 7: Twist your bangs to the side, again leaving the longer strands around your face. Bobby pin your bangs back, pushing the bobby pin in VERTICALLY so that it doesn’t show.

Voilà! The perfect party bun.

I’m wearing my bun with my Free People “Shimmy Shimmy” dress and Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet “L’Impatiente” lipstick.

Hope you all have a safe & fun New Year! See you in 2013~

Emma Stone’s messy side chignon

I used to have a coat nearly exactly like this when I was little – it was a Christmas present from my mom and I’m pretty sure my sister (she had a matching one too) and I never took ours off. My grandmother gave me this one for Christmas, and I’ve worn it every day since I got it; it’s soft and light, but nonetheless incredibly warm. It has also reawakened my love of bright red lipstick (I’m wearing Revlon’s matte “Really Red”).

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas – mine was pretty much perfect. We got snow and there were no arguments! I couldn’t have asked for more.