Calling All Makeup Geeks

      While Wear Your Invisible Crown may be an online Mecca for modest fashion posts—or so we humbly hope—it has not dipped its toes in the pool of skincare and makeup. This is quite ironic, as I used to be a makeup hoarder. If a community like M.A.A (Makeup Addicts Anonymous) existed, then I would've be a supporting member. I would have proudly burst into M.A.As with my M.A.Cs.  Yet, after a couple of years, this fixation with eyeliners, lipsticks, and powders dissipated and paved the way for an interest in sartorial style.

      As the editor of this blog, however, I still wanted to have makeup articles for all XX chromosome readers (or XY chromosome readers who find the female universe—brimming with frills, lace, and nail polish—laughably ridiculous and bewildering).

      This explains why when I met Talia Silver, from Silver Linings Makeup Artistry, I grew excited. Talia is a talented makeup artist whose work on clients appears to be both natural and luscious. Neither over-the-top nor too minimal, Talia’s artistry strikes the proverbial “just right” balance. (Check out photos of her work on her Facebook page!)

Talia Silver applying makeup on a client

      We are delighted to have Talia Silver on board as the official Skincare and Makeup contributor. Take a look at her first post below offering excellent advice on "How to Protect and Nourish your Skin; Part 1."

 BOOK REVIEW

 

       “Wear Your Invisible Crown” would hereby like to reinstate the Book Review section. (Tada! Did that sound pompous enough?)  Although we’ve covered Motion Picture and Indie films in the past couple of months (Mona Lisa Smile and The Giant Mechanical Man), we haven’t cracked open a book on our blog since October (when we discussed Libba Bray’s Beauty Pageants. Please click on the label below to read that column). The book that we are featuring this month is the #1 New York Times Bestseller Little Bee.

       The back cover of Little Bee proudly asserts “Once you have read this book, you’ll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don’t tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.”  When I initially read this, I scoffed the cynic’s scoff. Will Little Bee really be the kind of book that elicits Twi-hard mania in me? Will it be the type of novel that is so emotionally acute that I’m suddenly inspired to start my own version of Oprah’s Book Club? Will I blog about it?

       Yes, yes, and yes. If Chris Cleave, the author of this novel, hires me as part of his Publicity Staff, then he’ll see an astronomical rise in sales.

The Never-Disappointing O.P. and Her Spring Style

        In the Jewish Girl World, socialite Olivia Palermo is heralded as the fashion equivalent of Harry Houdini. She’s got more style tricks up her sleeve than the rest of us. Olivia is admired for her refined yet contemporary aesthetic, and for her feminine dresses laced with edgy urbanity. Above all, she makes modesty look like the crème de la crème of all styles; highly creative but unpretentious. Do you remember when we featured Ms. Palermo in October’s Style Icon column? (If not, then please click on the Olivia Palermo label below this post!) Although we already covered this socialite’s fashion sense, we would like to reintroduce it in light of the glorious spring season!

Take a look below and see how this style icon brings casual elegance to the warmer months.

What’s the Best Part of Writing? Writing. What’s the Worst Part of Writing? Writing.

Photo via www.thedailyfemme.com

 

       I recently received a letter of critique from an acclaimed Jewish female novelist. I do not know her personally. My brother shares a mutual friend with this author and when meeting her said “My sister is an aspiring writer, perhaps you can take a peek at her writing samples and guide her a bit?” Thank you, dear brother.

      I was willing to send this writer (let’s call her Madame W) a few college thesis papers to evaluate. Well-researched and analyzing Bronte, Faulkner, and Grimm’s Fairy Tales, my college essays are certainly more refined and *ahem* grammatically correct than my fashion-centric blog posts.  Or so I hope.

      Yet unknown to me, Madame W had already glanced at Wear Your Invisible Crown with the austere, Judge Judy-ish eyes of a creative writing professor. Oy vey. 

 

The Problem With Saying “Get A Job"

       After Pesach, we peer out the window and see Jewish children sashaying back to school, knapsacks dutifully laced across their shoulders, lunchboxes swinging by their side. The adults are reveling in Starbucks again, eyes enlivened with caffeine, properly armed to win the rat race. Mothers slip into routine, neatly stacking away the Pesach dishes, wiping the last Matzah crumbs from the highchair, the kitchen island, the living room rug. There is now a sense of “We’ve had 8 days of engaging in a continuous eating-sleeping cycle and now we’re ready to re-join society!” purging the air.

       Terrific. That’s how it should be. Even G-d is saying “Thanks for retelling the story of the Exodus and gorging on chocolate macaroons folks. But off ye go back to work now.”

       G-d, I have a question for You though: What about me? What should I do? What about all the non-students, the non-workers, and the non-parents? What about the graduates who discovered their first year out of college to be this exasperating limbo between complacent monotony and pent-up adrenaline (a.k.a. the kind of limbo that results in empty nacho chip bags and Netflix at 1:00 a.m).  What work is there for us to do now?

       Below is an informative article from Thought Catalog at www.ThoughtCatalog.com. It reminds everyone about the Darwinian implications of the job market, the mean reality of student loans, and the aggravation in dealing with ignored resumes. It is written in a sincere, compassionate tone and provides consolation to those who are presently stuck in the maw of the corporate shark. Although it is rather long—I highly recommend it!

 

 

Wear Your Invisible Crown will be taking a blogging break until after Pesach. What’ll be after that? LOTS of posts on Jewish Talent/Events, articles for the Jewish 20-something girl, and of course Modest Fashion/Style. Stay tuned.

 

Until then…happy cleaning and have an excellent Chag!

 

 

A Study in Contrast Part 1:

 

Skirts + Combat Boots

 

Or “How my Ex-Prof Influenced my Style.”

 

Photo via Stockholm Street Style

 

"Why would you want coherence and harmony from youth? Youth is about mashing, breaking and reassembling life to find new answers for your generation. That’s one of the reasons youth moves fashion, they haven’t found their harmony yet, and I’m thankful for that.” –Scott Schuman, The Sartorialist

 

       Welcome to our NEW monthly column on Wear Your Invisible Crown called “A Study in Contrasts.” (Please click on the “Study in Contrasts” label below to view our introductory article). This column will examine ensembles that may seem atrocious-looking on paper, but in reality, exude pure intrigue. The ‘philosophy’ behind this column is that youngsters often turn to fashion to mirror their befuddled identities and subconscious quirks, thus resulting in outfits that juxtapose a variety of aesthetics and stylistic influences.

Photo via www.Luckymag.com

 

        I personally have a tendency to pair oxfords or combat boots with flared, floral skirts (hence Alexa Chung is one of my favorite style icons). But seriously, if I can, then I will wear this kind of ensemble. Overtime, I became addicted to mixing the masculine with the feminine.

        One morning in October, I unexpectedly paused during my mad dash to college. I was in middle of tying my laces, when the dancing light of an epiphany blazed over my weathered combat boots. The reason why I was drawn to masculine + feminine pairings was suddenly revealed (albeit at the very inconvenient time of trying to catch the Q train).

This epiphany involved one of my ex-college professors. Let’s call him Mr. K.I.A (which stands for “Know-It-All”)