SO GAY

Have you visited Card Carrying Lesbian yet? I've linked to it a lot. Well, Sasha, the main blogger/editor/manager/honcho also makes some amazing lesbian jewelry through Etsy. For months I've been salivating over a steel piece that caught my eye and this week I finally made the leap to purchase it. And I'm so very glad I did! (She did not pay me to praise her or her jewelry - this is all just because I love my necklace.)

The So Gay necklace caught my eye because I am not a huge fan of using the word "lesbian" to describe myself, and I like the sense of humor tucked into the phrase while reclaiming it for myself. The bars stand for equality, which is lovely. I also received an Equality key chain which makes me smile every time I look at it and will keep my keys company (and little activists).

 I don't usually wear jewelry, but I can see this becoming a nice statement piece. I've already tried it on with dresses, t-shirts, blouses, and...numerous other things, and I love the way it looks with all of them! She makes resin and steel pieces with an assortment of fun and fantastic phrases to suit all your moods, so go check out her store and see if you find something you like! I can't wait to go to the local coffee shop and see what my androgynous/possibly gay/I-can't-quite-read-her-sexuality barista says!

It makes me feel good to wear it and that's the most important thing. If you've been waiting a lifetime for a Femme necklace, here's your chance! If you want Mrs. and Mrs. hearts or Butch Pride tags this is the place to get them :) I love how I look and I love how I feel. Check out her shop and let me know which one makes you feel best :D

Presents

Christmas season got you feeling tired? Dry? Chapped? Presents for you (and her!) !!


So you're working holiday overtime and not getting enough sleep. Just because your right eye is twitching from fatigue doesn't mean your eyes need to have bags or look puffy! If you do, you're using the wrong eye cream!

What I use:

bareMinerals Renew and Hydrate Eye Cream.
Yes, it's a bit pricey, but my skincare is something I take seriously and spend a lot on, even if I go without other things everywhere else. Trust me this stuff works. If you want to fight wrinkles they have a different cream, but this is just for extra moisture and anti-aging for those in the mid-20s to mid-30s range. Also, no puffy/baggy eyes and I get no sleep.

Hand lotion is a must!

Jergens Ultra Healing Intense Moisture Therapy.
This little travel size bottle is in every walmart/target/vons/cvs/you-name-it for $1.50 and it'll be the best thing you've ever done for your winter-dry hands! Let's be honest, your lady likes your velvet skin, so keep it that way and tuck one of these in your pocket, though morning and night is usually good enough for me. (Also don't forget to drink tons of water which will also make your skin lusciously soft!)

Spent all your money on eye cream? It's chill, because this lip balm is inexpensive, smells good, tastes good, and is very hydrating.

Quenched

BabyLips by Maybelline: (Warning, some shades are hideous for your skin tone. I had to give away my Pink Punch because it looked hideous, but I got Grape Vine from her in return which looks great on me!)

Quenched is a pretty tasteless and clear one, although peppermint is clear too and I love it. Both have permanent homes in my pocket because this time of year my lips are constantly in need of a little balm and I am not much of a gloss girl.

If you're willing to splurge a little on lip care I highly recommend Sugar by Fresh lip treatment, which can be found at Sephora. It's my other go-to and super hydrating, plus it smells like sugar and lemon!

Don't forget that taking care of yourself not only makes you happy, but also makes your lady happy. Give her the gift of soft skin this winter! Good luck shopping!

Good Lookin' Wednesday

Have you ever seen the movie House Bunny? If you haven't, you should make a point to. It has some of my favorite actresses, including Anna Faris, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, and a hysterically funny ensemble.

Anyway, there's a speech Anna Faris gives (spoiler) about how she is allergic to Azithromycin. She takes it anyway because the allergic reaction makes her flushed and beautiful and there's a whole lot more that proves a point in the movie.

Anyway, all day yesterday I felt awful because of my spider bite. But, despite the bone and muscle pain, my skin was glowingly fabulous. The swollen, puffy effect was beautiful, like botox! I've never thought about plastic surgery or injections before, but the effect was amazing. I didn't look tired or sad or stressed, I just looked happy and well.

Would I ever surgically enhance myself? I don't know :/ It seems like a lot of work and pain and recovery for not that much improvement. I'm not really big on pain and needles and surgery.

But at least I looked pretty on Halloween.

Good Lookin' Wednesday

It's that time again! Good Lookin' Wednesday is back! This one is super important. We're gonna talk about eyeballs.

Did you know most eye drops are actually bad for you if you're using them on a regular basis? If you're using eye drops every other day it's too much. The redness reduction in eye drops is actually a blood vessel constrictor which hurts your eyes in the long run, and causes "rebound redness" after 4-6 hours. Not to mention if you wear contact lenses (like I do) most brands of eye drops (Visine, Clear Eyes, etc) will break down your contact lenses quicker and make your eyes more susceptible to infection.

Any eye drop containing an antihistamine, most common in allergy specific drops, lowers the immune system in the eye and leaves the contact lens wearer prone to infection. Who wants pink eye? Not me, thanks! Normally I try to go organic, and Similasan eye drops are great, but if you wear contacts they will gunk up your lenses quickly and ruin clarity.

So what do I use?

Blink for Soft and RGP Contact Lenses

It also comes in a regular dry-eye formula, but I've only used the contact formula. Blink works differently by improving tear film stability and break up time, which is equal to the amount of time it takes for dry spots to appear on the surface of your eye after you blink.

Sound cool? That's because it is. While all the other dudes are making your problem worse so that you have to use eye drops every four hours to feel like you don't have sandpaper under your eyelid, Blink helps to solve the underlying issue. You don't need to use the drops very often. I use them maybe once a week when I've had my contacts in too long (like yesterday, when I took a shower with my contacts in and they got suctioned onto my eyes!) but some people put a drop onto their lenses before putting them in to increase all day wearing comfort.

Hope this helps with all your uncomfortable eye needs! Do the research on your favorite brand of eye drops and see what they're actually doing to your eyeballs!

Vanity

I am a vain person.

This blog serves as Evidence File #1. I sit at a computer and write about myself and feel a sense of accomplishment when other people read it. I think I'm pretty, smart, funny, polite, generous, and kind. It's fairly obvious I'm quite narcissistic.

Despite this, I don't dress up very often. I didn't come from money and I don't have much now. I'm not impoverished, but I don't buy things I don't need and I am a firm believer that with tweaking, Ikea furniture can last a long time. I don't buy clothes every year and none of my shoes cost over thirty dollars. That's just how I was raised, and I'm used to it. Plus, cheap clothes and shoes are so cute nowadays (hello, Target!)

(Side story: My sister went bankrupt after high school when she worked as a waitress in a suburb of Los Angeles. She bought thousands of dollars of clothes and shoes on a credit card, in order to catch the eye of some rich guy. After maxing out and calling it a day, she moved back home and fell head over heels for a sweet surfer guy with zero cash. They've been married for 16 years. Everybody say it with me. Awwwww.) 

Anyway, I'm pretty much a t-shirt and jeans kind of gal, and people don't usually pass out compliments when you wear the same four pairs of jeans and converse for two years running. So, when I stepped out for work into the chilly, drizzling weather today I hadn't expected anything special. I was dressed differently- it was cold so I switched out my jeans for leggings and boots, my t-shirt for something more stylish.

I didn't expect to be complimented. I didn't expect people to tell me I looked beautiful, or to ask where I'd gotten my clothes or my shoes. I smiled, and someone asked what eyeshadow I was wearing (was she crazy? Who wears eyeshadow in the rain?) Someone else asked me what shampoo and conditioner I use. People complimented my hair, my smile, my laugh, my eyes. I think I may have started glowing.

I felt beautiful. Not just pretty, not just sweet and smiling in front of a mirror in the morning, but noticed. I felt as if I had suddenly come into focus, rather than just a blur in the background. It wore off as I came home from work, took out my contacts, put on warm socks.

Tomorrow I'll just be the blur - the girl in jeans and a t-shirt, and I'm okay with that. But just for today, it felt so wonderful to be beautiful.

Rise of the Redhead

Marilyn Monroe courtesy of Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Remember when blondes used to have more fun? It seemed like every movie star was dying her hair blonde and magazine covers all had blondes splashed across them. Now, while there is more diversity encouraged among actresses, singers, and models, a special jewel seems to have emerged at the top.

The redhead.

Dyed redheads are super popular too, but the natural redhead remains the most coveted of all. Why the sudden fascination? Why are women scrambling to buy red dye from a box or a salon? Is it a feeling of empowerment and bold sexuality that accompanies the color? Or is it something else?

Few people who are not naturally red or strawberry blonde can pull off the switch to a red color. I dyed my hair a nice, vibrant mahogany-ish color once when I was 12. With my Mediterranean/Native American tanned complexion (though I am not Mediterranean and not very Native American) it looked FABULOUS on me. Just kidding, it looked awful. I won't ever do it again, I promise.

Karen Gillan, a stunningly lovely natural ginger

Both of my grandmothers had red hair and my mother has lovely jade green eyes (but brown hair) and I always feel like I missed out on the DNA lotto. My sisters managed to snag her eyes but my brothers and I were left out. I've cherished her green eyes for years, but no amount of wishing has ever lightened my eyes or made them magically turn green.

I do wonder if our sudden fascination has anything to do with the Harry Potter culture-the red hair and green eyes that were so special and cherished in the storyline that wound its way through a generation of new, young readers. These readers have grown up and started what seems to be an "invasion" of British-isms. These are a generation of people who enjoy British television, books, music, talk radio, colloquialisms, and fashion. If we idolize the minds and words of those across the pond, why not their looks?

My ultimate badass crush- Michelle Rodriguez

Most of the world has brown eyes and brown hair, traits which are beautiful in their own right- but it seems like not many people are happy with what they have, and are constantly reaching to change themselves into something more "special and unique." I'm not saying that I fall on the outside. I love being "special," being noticed. But I'm not a redhead- I don't have green eyes. Sometimes you just gotta let DNA do its thing.

In the meantime I'm lucky in that I'm a gay lady and enjoy looking at pretty girls who are special and unique.

Aishwarya Rai- one of the most beautiful women in the world, and Jamie Chung- current TV love who is heating it up on ABC's Once Upon A Time

Kerry Washington is lighting up DC with her gorgeous face in Scandal and just try to tell me you're not in love with Grace Park, a smokin' hot lady you might recognize from Hawaii Five-O

ABC's Nashville LadyCrush- Connie Britton Along with my favorite smiling girl TaySwift

I will stand under your Umbrella.

Good Lookin' Wednesday

So, I know Wednesdays are kind of a slump day, which is why I was hoping that by posting on Wednesdays it would give me and you a middle-of-the-week perk up. Sharing tips, tricks, and good products is always fun, helpful, and a real money saver because someone else has already tested them out for you.

I try to keep many of my products pretty natural or organic (though sometimes I stray) but all of them have to do right by my skin, hair, and body. If I have to cake myself in something in order to look good, it's doing me wrong. So, for my first post I want to talk about raw honey. Yeah, the stuff you buy at the farmer's market or Trader Joe's or other healthy establishment. You can put it in your tea, use it in recipes, or even eat it plain. Did you know it's also really great for your skin?

(Note: If you're allergic to bees, do not use raw honey. Also, never give raw honey to a small child under 2 as it can be fatal. This warning label should be on the jar.)

Raw honey contains enzymes which allow it to keep many of its natural healing properties which are lost in the commercial refining process (AKA the stuff you find at Wal-Mart.) By applying it topically it can help to heal small cuts and scrapes, and using it internally supposedly has many benefits as well.

Raw Honey made from Orange Blossoms

 Here is the last jar I bought. It's the only brand the store carried that wasn't a sage-based honey (I'm allergic to sage, so, probably not a great idea for me) and it's lasted me a few months now.

Since it hasn't been refined, the honey will crystallize over time, leaving a thick layer at the top while the layer underneath remains liquid. Mine is a few months old, but the thick, lighter colored layer hasn't gone bad, and will become a liquid again when exposed to the temperature of my skin.

I love to use it when I'm peeling after a sunburn. It soothes and calms itchy, ruined skin. Later on in the sunburn process it will slough off all the dead skin while moisturizing the new skin underneath and give me a nice, healthy glow. You can mix raw honey with other ingredients to make facial masks specific to your skin type, but I don't. Raw honey has antibacterial properties, which help fight off acne and infection as well as the normal whiteheads and blackheads which occur when bacteria clogs up pores in your skin.

I combat these by washing my face with raw honey once a week. A once a week regimen will not upset the balance in any skin type. (I find that using it every day is too much moisture for me, so I use Bareminerals as my main skincare.) I wet my face first and then grab a tablespoon of honey out of the jar with my fingers. (I do not consume any honey from this jar. It is for my external use only. I don't think it'll kill you, it's just kind of an ick factor for me.) I spread it on, careful to avoid the eyelids, and let it sit for a minute (if it's a new jar it can be a little runny, so use less and watch it to make sure it doesn't run past your eyebrows) before gently massaging it across my skin.

Raw honey is grainy, and can exfoliate quickly. Be careful and light with the pressure the first few times or you could end up exfoliating too many layers in one go. This goes for any face wash. Your skin is fragile, and rubbing harshly is a surefire way to cause lines, wrinkles, and sagging. Since the honey has no artificial sweeteners or preservatives, it dissolves in water and washes away easily, leaving your face clean, soft, and glowing.

Also, if you have age spots, freckles, or mild hyperpigmentation, dampen the spot and dab a little raw honey on it for ten minutes every night and it should lighten up in a few weeks, thanks to a peroxide-type effect raw honey and water have when mixed together.

Do you use raw honey in your skin regimen? What do you think?

Also, drop a note, tweet, email, whatever, about a problem or product that you can't find or that does work for you that you'd like me to cover. Anything from getting rid of your cat's itchy flea bites to finding a good hair conditioner to the most awesome chapstick I've ever used. Let me know.