read my lips

I have always had a penchant for bright lip colors, particularly the kind that last through many cups of coffee and bites of candy. So imagine my delight when asked to collaborate with Refinery29 and Maybelline in celebration of the latter's brand new line, Color Elixir. Three gorgeous tubes of lip gloss disguised as lipstick arrived in the most wonderfully bold shades for me to review: Fuchsia Flourish, Signature Scarlet, and Raspberry Rhapsody. I normally gravitate towards a matte lipstick, but this glossy effect totally won me over. It's devoid of that annoying shimmer often found in lip gloss, and it's super saturated and moisturizing. And the best part? Even after running around all day, stuffing my face with food, and wiping my mouth with tissues there was still plenty of color on my lips. Kind of a miracle. I'm sold, Maybelline!

Wearing Color Elixir in Fuchsia Flourish.

Wearing Color Elixir in Signature Scarlet.

Wearing Color Elixir in Raspberry Rhapsody.

Photos by Allegra Juliet

Color Elixir samples c/o Maybelline

Sponsored by Refinery29

san francisco girl, part two

Photos by Hana Haley

san francisco girl, part one

Photos by Hana Haley

When I visited San Francisco a few months ago I was lucky enough to do a photo shoot with the incredibly talented (and lovely! and babely!) Hana Haley. We walked around Pacific Heights looking for beautiful buildings and I changed outfits on the sidewalk and behind parked cars. My apologies to any children who may have seen my undergarments that day. I love the dreamy quality of Hana's photographs and I'm looking forward to collaborating with her again during my holiday vacation in December. Stay tuned for part two of this series coming soon!

halloween sequins & feathers

Oh, Halloween. Every year I look forward to you with both excitement and dread, because I know I will have to think of something better each year to top the last costume (see evidence here, here, and here). This year I stumbled upon the actual costume before thinking of the character. I found this crazy sequined getup and decided to be an Aging Showgirl, complete with terrible makeup, a bottle of Lillet, and decades of regret. She had her moment in the spotlight and now she's hanging on by a thread... and clearly I take this a bit too seriously.

a teen vogue feature

I love showing glimpses of my Philadelphia apartment and all the crazy things inside it, and now you can see quite a bit more courtesy of my feature on Teen Vogue! Donut makes a brief appearance (for all you hardcore Donut fans), as does my hat wall and a rather nutty 1960's dress I scrounged up at the flea market. Hopefully the young readers of Teen Vogue don't find out that I'm actually an old lady and instead focus on the importance of collecting weird books and removing stray hairs from shoes before inviting people over to photograph your apartment (see last photo). See lots more photos here! 

Photos by Erin Kelly