Sunja Link dress – it’s a couple yrs old and was a generous gift from Sevensisters
Everlane sandals
non-leather slides by Melissa (I LOVE my Melissa recycled/recyclable rubber slides!!
Wearing/Buying
This is gonna be a quick one; I’m so busy today getting ready to go out of town for the weekend to see my dad! So excited, but as usual, stressed about packing. Ugh. Why do I make my life so complicated? It’s not that hard. For me though, traveling is an opportunity for me to wear things I don’t seem to wear often in my day-to-day life, you know? So I try to pack them all in, and realize I can’t, then get frustrated and say fuck it, just throwing all my most worn, best loved pieces in my carry-on and calling it a day. Which is also fine.
Also, as you see above, I got my Sunja Link dress altered (got the neckline opened to a v, and had slits put in at the bottom to make it easier to walk in) finally, and planned to take it with me to Florida. I still love it, but it’s overwhelming on me, and I’m not sure I want to wear it 🙁 I will take it and wear it though, because it’s one of the only linen dress with sleeves I have. If all else fails, I’m going to make pillows out of it, I am obsessed with the pattern.
Did you see the new “tree” AllBirds?? I love them, and will definitely order a pair at some point. I am a super-huge fan of both my wool AllBirds shoes, and these fill a need for a pair that I can wear in warmer weather.
Finally, please someone tell me in what order to use my face products. Seriously. I’m paralyzed here.
Here’s what I have/use:
Evan Healy hydrosol in rose/geranium (I used to use this and loved it, so bought it again to use instead of Witch hazel)
Kypris antioxidant dew
Squalane oil AS MOISTURIZER
Sunscreen (TBD – I’m looking for a new one now, any suggestions for one that doesn’t make my face feel like the desert??)
Kjaer Weis foundation some days or Tata Harper illuminating moisturizer other days
I need help 🙂
Reading/Watching
Just a couple things I read that were interesting this week:
Consumption as an active choice, not a passive response
Cult Gaia vs. Steve Madden – everything is a copy
Doing
Going to Orlando in the morning to spend time with my father and go to the Winter Park arts festival (my step-mom is the President Elect of the organizing body this year!). Will be back late Monday night. So excited for sunshine and warm weather, although it’s going to be HOT as hell….
Hope you have a wonderful weekend too!!
The Tree Albirds are adorable and tempting. I love the idea of the Skippers — I’ve been looking at the Lems Mariners boat shoes, which might be a bit clunky (and are also leather, and I’m trying to prioritize alternatives…), and now I’m thinking these might be better (although I have a feeling I’ll get the toe bumps in the front worse than I do with my Wool Loungers).
No idea if this is “correct” but for facial products I do:
1. Hydrosol (either Even Healy or Mountain Rose Herbs, but I should learn to make my own — and actually I refill the bottles with tap water a couple times after I run out, just because I’m cheap, and it seems to work just as well most of the time… )
2. Lotion (Aveeno Baby Eczema Formula — not “natural” but super mild and the only thing that works)
3. CC Cream (Andalou Naturals Rose formula, SPF 30 — zinc oxide)
4. Sometimes Mineral Fusion cream concealer
The only “trick” is that I have to wait between steps 2 and 3, otherwise the CC Cream seems to just sit there and not sink in. If I really want “extra coverage” I’ll mix a teeny drop of Mineral Fusion sheer foundation into the CC Cream — I always worry I’m reducing the SPF when I do this, but it’s so rare anyway. If my skin feels super dry, I’ll add an extra spritz of hydrosol/cold water at the very end. Oh, and if I’m going to be doing anything involving photo or video, I don’t use the zinc CC Cream because sometimes it seems really glare-y or ghost-y in photos… So then I either go bare faced (if my skin and I are in a good mood), or throw on just a little of the sheer foundation for a confidence boost.
I think you look cute in the dress!
I like EltaMD
UV Facial Broad-Spectrum SPF 30 Plus (jar) it’s not super cheap, but I think it works well at moisturizing/protecting!
Have a safe trip and fun weekend ?
COSRX Aloe Soothing Sun Cream. Best sunscreen ever. It’s strong but doesn’t feel or smell gross. It’s moisturizing, not at all greasy, and having some aloe makes it calming and nice on your skin. I love wearing it.
https://www.amazon.com/COSRX-Aloe-Soothing-Cream-SPF50/dp/B00PBX3FLW/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1521224120&sr=8-2&keywords=cosrx+sun+cream
I love you in this dress.
Sunscreen goes after moisturizer but before primer if you use one.
If you don’t feel comfortable wearing that dress out and about in Florida, it would make a fabulous lounger. Can see you under a cabana sipping on a mojito !!
Hope you have a great trip.
I have always loved this dress and will happily take off of your hands if you should ever want to part with it!
So as far as products go, I use mainly Mychelle skincare. Toner, C serum and polypeptide cream in the day and toner, retinol serum, and retinol cream at night. I keep my toner (made by me – a blend of witch hazel and Doterra oils) in a spray bottle and use it mainly to hydrate and help my serum spread so I use less.
Order is 1) Toner 2) Serum 3) Moisturizer 4) Sun Shield/Foundation
I also use Mychelle’s tinted Sun Shield spf 50 as my “foundation” so will slather that on and top with a Pacifica blotting powder.
For you:
1 -Evan Healy hydrosol in rose/geranium (I used to use this and loved it, so bought it again to use instead of Witch hazel)
2 -Kypris antioxidant dew
3- Squalane oil AS MOISTURIZER
4 -Sunscreen (TBD – I’m looking for a new one now, any suggestions for one that doesn’t make my face feel like the desert??)
5- Kjaer Weis foundation some days or Tata Harper illuminating moisturizer other days
I second EltaMd! It’s what my skincare guru recommends (I go to a plastic surgery and advanced skin care clinic here in Austin for my face stuff), and I have used it ever since my esthetician told me to switch. I use the SPF 50 and it’s awesome. Have a fabulous trip!!
Definitely sunscreen after moisturizer 🙂
I use Clarins UV Plus Anti-Pollution tinted – feels like I have nothing on and serves as “foundation” – Only sunscreen I stand (mineral), others turn my skin red….
That pattern is stunning, and I totally get the obsession. I especially love the inversion of the colors on the back.
I hope this article helps clarify your product order!
https://www.allure.com/story/how-to-layer-your-skin-care-products
I love the dress, but if you’re not in love with it you could make a pillow from the bottom and keep the top part as a shirt?
oh!!! that’s also a good idea 🙂
i’m going to wear it this weekend and see what I REALLY think…
You look amazing in that dress, and I just want to share that when I open my emails in the morning, I am always thrilled to see that you have posted, esp. pics of yourself in your clothes or Slowre inventory. I live in Australia so I don’t really have acess to the brands you write about (yes I realize online is an option but cost and sizing difficulties, returns etc make this unrealistic), but I LOVE your attitude to clothing and dressing, and your aesthetic. Also think your hair is looking great and was wondering how weird it would be to take your photo to my hairdresser. I sound like such a stalker sorry!
oh my gosh, thank you 🙂
you can definitely take a picture to your hairdresser, i don’t mind. it’s so weird you say that though, because i’ve been feeling sort of ‘meh’ about my hair lately. i like it, but i feel like it doesn’t always translate well in photos. and it’s super-hard to get the mix of products right. i think it’s so good this morning because it’s clean, and i blow dried it LOL
Grechen, I second the idea of making a shirt from the dress, and also possibly a skirt? Or pillows. Or a table runner. 🙂
I think you are putting your products on in the correct order. Sunscreen should go after moisturizer, but before foundation, unless it’s a clear spray. It’s basically lightest to heaviest. I also like the Elta MD and use the Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46. There are some brands that make a spray-on facial sunscreen that you can reapply over your makeup, but I haven’t tried any yet.
I agree, Catherine!
Yup! Which is the order in which Grechen listed them. 🙂
That’s such an awesome dress. How can you not be drinking fruity drinks on a lanai channeling your best Blanche Devereaux* in that?!?!
*I mean that– in case it isn’t obvious– as the highest of praise. I dream.
Love the dress pattern!
In the morning I use Skinceuticals vitamin C serum (C E Ferulic), Sunday Riley tidal moisturizer, then Skinceuticals physical fusion SPF liquid. I love it bc it is JUST sunscreen, not moisturizing, bc that is what a moisterizer is for. It is mineral but goes on totally clean without a hint of a cast. It is tinted but I’m fair and in dead of winter it doesn’t leave a trace of color behind. It rubs in undetectable.
I have been told using a separate SPF and moisterizer is best.
The dress looks great with the V neck in it now. Good call on the alterations.
When putting on facial products you put on the lightest first, like toner or really liquid-like lotions. Sunscreen is last step before makeup. You are using yours in the right order.
I really liked Hada Labo UV Creamy Gel SPF50PA+++ but it’s really hard to find now. It was the only one that was moisturizing and didn’t leave a white cast. I now use Goodal Mild Protect Natural Filter since the Hada Labo ran out. It’s good, but leaves a little bit of a white cast.
Please, please don’t make a pillow out of that dress. I don’t think it’s overwhelming on you. I think it’s a really great dress, and the fact that it is linen, I can only imagine it up close 🙂 I just think you are not used to seeing yourself in clothes which are bold in color or pattern. I believe if you wore this dress more, you would come to feel very comfortable in it and wear it more often. That’s my two cents anyway.
Ohhh! I love that with a V neckline! I have a larger bust so higher necklines can be a disaster for me. It’s why I ended up returning my Georgia dress. It looked SO matronly on me.
I am totally inspired by the idea to transform a top into a v-neck. I have a J+J t-top which I love for many reasons and would love even more if it were v-neck.
Was is complicated at all to have your tailor get the lines right or is this a simple thing and I should be brave & do it?
i LOVE my tailor, and trust her/them (there are multiple seamstresses there, and I like all of them) to get things right, so I wasn’t overly concerned about it. that said, i asked them to put the slit on the left side bottom of the dress not BOTH sides and they opened up both sides, but whatever…
anyway, i watched her pin and visualize the lines of the v-neck and made sure my bra straps would still be covered, etc. and let her have it. the whole bill was $32 which wasn’t cheap, and i’m not sure how much of that was the v-neck.
i would absolutely try it, just be clear about how wide you want the neckline, etc. as she’s marking it for you…and maybe err on the more narrow side so if it’s not enough they can make it bigger?
good luck 🙂
I am so glad you are keeping the dress (since you basically talked me into buying it too lol!) and also glad that you customized it. $32.00 is not much to pay vs. a new dress, and it ensures it is right for you (and unique.) Also, a couple of people recommended powder and spray sunscreen, but these are not good for the lungs (I think they are on a phase-out ban in the US? Or am I confusing countries here?)
I know, right? I couldn’t believe it when she made the neck even smaller in her latest signature edition.
I live in GA and work outside. Hands down I use ALBA BOTANICALS sunscreens. They are all great. I do not need any moisturizer if I just apply the screen and let it dry!! Then any make I want goes on top I feel like the screen needs to come in direct contact with the skin to be effective.
I meant any make-up goes on top…..
Hi there – I was super confused about the layering order too and came up with an acronym to help me remember the pre-makeup routine: S A M O S
S = serum
A = antioxidant
M = moisturizer
O = oil
S = sunscreen
I personally don’t use all 5 layers, and depending on the season, might switch out one thing for another, but the order stays consistent. I think your order is spot on!
brilliant 🙂 thank you!!
it makes me think of stamos LOL – i guess that’s how i can remember it now!