tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-122476222008-05-16T01:15:02.895-04:00TheLipstickPageForums.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587509938237654532noreply@blogger.comBlogger1055125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-81568975077898097272008-05-16T00:20:00.006-04:002008-05-16T00:54:03.691-04:00

Modernity is a slippery term, depends on whom you ask. But the Belle Epoque, for all its dinosaurian values, is marked by considerably less self-conscious agony than our current century. This week, I was inspired by romantic Victoriana, with an eye for modernity's wearability. Unparalleled wistfulness and nostalgia: Guerlain Après L'Ondée, the rosy fingers of dawn itself in a bottle (I have

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-87585795959775088422008-05-15T20:15:00.007-04:002008-05-15T23:00:28.352-04:00

I've been reading "women's magazines" since JFK was in office. I worked my way through long-gone titles like American Girl and Ingenue; Teen, Seventeen, Mademoiselle, Glamour; their big sisters Vogue and Harper's Bazaar (and their British and Canadian counterparts); Marie-Claire, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Lear's, Mirabella, More and Allure. I've probably forgotten several, but no matter. Page for

Joy Rothkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10311126233366175835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-70573890069575483432008-05-15T00:06:00.003-04:002008-05-15T09:34:30.557-04:00

Though the showy tuberose was my first entry into florals, the iris is without a doubt my favorite flower, a mistress of subtleties: refined, thoughtful, and quietly sensuous—still waters run deep. Because of its density, it sinks down amongst the base notes, adding a characteristic suppleness to the drydown. An iris-centric perfume is never really loud and lighthearted; they tend to be austere,

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-8866615187943479062008-05-14T17:41:00.008-04:002008-05-14T22:07:33.989-04:00

What a great color on a blonde (DKNY). Charlize Theron doesn't look half bad either. =P thelipstickpageforums.com

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-72295226530543518712008-05-14T00:01:00.004-04:002008-05-15T18:22:41.279-04:00

I'll admit to a great weakness for fine lingerie; it's just about the only place you'll find real, honest-to-goodness lace. It may be the height of frivolity to pay hundreds of dollars for a few grams of silk that no one will see, but I've always been better at spending my money than saving it. It's all about the hedonism (and I'm still too young to spend it on anything other than myself). So far

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-389787765440156872008-05-13T01:06:00.010-04:002008-05-15T22:50:02.094-04:00

I don't like my jewelry to look like everyone else's. I want it to be unique, but not like the kind of stuff I used to call "UNICEF store"--i.e., thick, heavy, graceless, folkloric. I prefer more delicate pieces, but I can be a bit of a klutz, and have been known to snag delicate chains on my collar or drop brittle stones on tile floors. (A beautiful turquoise pendant I received as a birthday

Joy Rothkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10311126233366175835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-56329017345309721582008-05-13T00:09:00.002-04:002008-05-13T02:49:39.529-04:00

You may have noticed I don't blog much about makeup any more. I've settled. More or less, my stash has reached a point where it doesn't require much editing. So, I have turned my attention to my wardrobes, both clothing and perfume—yes, yes, I am anal, but "it gives [me] a sense of control in a world full of chaos" (Clueless). The Mnemonic Sense chronicles my attempts to make sense of the mad

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-20520960155065828342008-05-12T15:22:00.003-04:002008-05-12T17:56:40.392-04:00

I've got a real thing for NARS. It's the closest you can come to an artist's pigments in the cosmetic world. Nothing is more satisfying than to array your duos before your feasting eyes. I have never been particularly enthusiastic about the palettes, however. It is difficult to select five shade for a quint, much less ten. There's always a color that's entirely useless or redundant. It was a

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-45613939935105148772008-05-12T00:00:00.004-04:002008-05-12T01:00:39.759-04:00

So...I had an interesting weekend, and I hope you did too. I got this killer dress from a consignment shop. Quintessential late 80's/early 90's, new with tags, and fitted out with linebacker shoulder pads and little elastic "belt" in the back. A cool Indian design; this type of clothing had always been made in India before the apparel market began to drown in Chinese-made goods. The dress was

Colleen Shirazihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08852308543194030377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-89922565042324204272008-05-11T00:12:00.001-04:002008-05-11T00:24:58.034-04:00

The Unicorn in Captivity (1495-1505). I sometimes find the inclination for exoticism in contemporary niche perfumery, like oud or fig or burnt rubber, slightly contemptible. I find it is a strategy not unlike when movies use sex and violence in place of plot. So like any jaded sample whore, I approached hyped-up Ormonde Woman with not a little suspicion—come on, hemlock? I am delighted to tell

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-677030321418113822008-05-10T23:26:00.009-04:002008-05-16T01:01:14.975-04:00

I just got back from a walk wearing my FitFlops. On my hair is Ayurvedic oil; on my legs an essential oil-infused body oil from Bali. Up one arm and down the other is a series of perfumes, "love potions" [some infused with pheromones], and scented oils from Santa Barbara, Hollywood, Cincinnati, San Francisco, and several cities in Canada. There's LUSH, Dr. Hauschka and Grateful Body on my

Joy Rothkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10311126233366175835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-43935117706942159072008-05-10T01:17:00.006-04:002008-05-10T20:42:34.397-04:00

Cydwoq's Horn shoe I've decided against Jean Patou's Sublime. I tested it out again...it's odd. I've found, with perfumes, that you can seldom turn back the clock. A scent with which you were once so in love, can be like an old boyfriend where it was right at the time, but things have changed. On the other hand, I still want Joy. And that's not a perfume I really liked that much, before,

Colleen Shirazihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08852308543194030377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-68338961232963539442008-05-10T00:48:00.003-04:002008-05-11T09:39:54.607-04:00

Joan Fontaine embodies the fragile, retiring charm of the violet. Modern perfumes have become the subject of intellectual rigor, and it is sometimes very grand indeed. Frédéric Malle is a very intelligently designed line, and with an astute nose you can access the mechanics whirring behind L'Artisan Parfumeur and Serge Lutens. And these are the good ones, not the scratch 'n' sniff Sephora

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-72001267565386050692008-05-09T00:30:00.003-04:002008-05-09T02:20:10.707-04:00

Let us make Most Wanted a Friday tradition, a more thematically organized version of the Fantasy Web Find. The theme today is the itinerant bohemian. What's summer if not for travel? I'm definitely more a scribbler than an iPod-er, so I always need a notebook handy, so why not keep those thoughts both stylish and safe in the aptly named Hermès Globetrotter ($590)? Though I always err towards

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-88087974718362458702008-05-08T00:06:00.007-04:002008-05-08T03:14:06.154-04:00

I wonder, at times, how I ever got into this fine mess, the world of perfume appreciation—then I must laugh at myself—with eyes and wallet wide open, and that's the truth. To revisit my thoughts of January 22, 2008: "More than anything, I am amazed by how much of perfume appreciation is purely imaginative. This is not the same thing as our sense of smell. We smell a rose in Yves Saint Laurent

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-58434580857980089232008-05-07T00:08:00.007-04:002008-05-08T20:48:36.226-04:00

For those who glory in all the ornate rituals of femininity, one must take care to avoid preciousness. The Purist supplies clean lines with substance, The Adventurer balances raciness with wit, but The Romantic must refine clumsy, gravity-bound embellishments into an utter delicacy, pieces seemingly crafted by seraphim and inspired by natural forms. THE RING Me & Ro's Bombay Ring ($825) is

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-82132306640315133822008-05-06T00:04:00.013-04:002008-05-08T19:51:38.146-04:00

For someone who shuns the traditional wedding scenario in the strongest terms, and would prefer a rock 'n' roll wedding in Vegas, here are some ideas for an extra dose of glamour and glitz. Weddings are generally associated with frills, but I looked for pieces with a thread of naughty humor underneath all the fuss. THE RING Love the organic, uncluttered look of this L. Frank ring ($4,580), with

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-49950685499058442912008-05-05T00:02:00.004-04:002008-05-08T11:42:34.107-04:00

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity. Not everyone desires gaud and pomp of tulle and lace, so here is a wedding to delight the minimalist's heart. I looked for very clean silhouettes and purity of form, but not without a high degree of sumptuousness, so that each piece is truly special. THE RING A circle of pure and perfect gold from Reinstein/Ross ($925), subtly textured, is the most elegant of

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-36961900772742591392008-05-04T18:23:00.002-04:002008-05-04T18:31:05.572-04:00

For a long time now, I've dabbled with the idea of writing a series on weddings, but stopped short of completion. A wedding is so deeply personal, I feared to tread on toes with anything less than perfection. In this series:There are no white roses, stiff-as-frosting dresses, nor Tiffany solitaires; if you have any imagination, you can dream these things up yourself, and LP readers are very

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-42396870530564176982008-05-04T17:53:00.002-04:002008-05-04T17:59:21.403-04:00

The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. The shy and angelic violet, an aroma straight out of the heaving bosoms of repressed Victoriana, has a candied sweetness. Violets can be downright saccharine en soliflore (the cloying Caron Aimez-Moi), but within a composition they delicately sweeten, not unlike how the carnation adds a hint of spice, as an alternative to the heavy-handed syrup of

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-24643092653739622602008-05-03T20:30:00.003-04:002008-05-04T19:02:15.863-04:00

BASICS email: jrothkeatgmail.com (modified) age and location: 55, Southern California. affiliations: I was born in Queens, New York in the waning months of the first Eisenhower administration. Moved to Southern California at 4; stayed until college (Arizona State University, 1974); returned for a couple of years; moved to San Francisco and stayed for 23 years, except for a one- year Manhattan

Joy Rothkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10311126233366175835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-59499588894434051402008-05-03T01:55:00.025-04:002008-05-05T21:36:17.803-04:00

Say hello to the writers of The Lipstick Page Forums! Emily is unfortunately on hiatus due to personal reasons. Snooty (snotty) me. BASICS email: dain.choi@gmail.com age & location: 23 in New England affiliations: Korean by origin, American by birth, raised Buddhist, and a theoretical social democrat—in real life I'm less than enthusiastic about all societies, religions, and political entities,

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-80905001347817499002008-05-02T00:09:00.006-04:002008-05-03T00:58:24.790-04:00

Ah, with all due apologies to Fitzgerald. To celebrate the return of the sun, here are five things that I especially covet, according to this theme: luxury attenuated into ethereality. Wondrously organic in sumptuous rose gold, this Lucifer Vir Honestus Micro Chain ($4850) haunts my dreams. Though it could carry even the most ornate pendants without shame, I'd wear it alone, as an antidote

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-6668099934390778082008-05-01T00:38:00.000-04:002008-05-01T00:39:27.327-04:00

Garter belts are sooo sexy. But it's weird to wear one, isn't it? Like the indole hidden deep within jasmine, eugenol resides in the humble carnation, the same that give cloves their fire. Consequently, carnation can add bite to compositions as varied as Guerlain Après L'Ondée and Caron Tabac Blond. Alternatively, you can amplify the spice by loading the juice with cloves and pepper, which fans

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12247622.post-66633982500446815072008-04-30T17:36:00.005-04:002008-05-01T03:22:59.731-04:00

"Are you threatening me with legal action, Mr. Fabian?" STOMP. Bette Davis is no pin-up, not by a long shot, but god, what drama. Definitely the woman for carnation's contradictory nature of fire and ice. En Avion seems to belong to a Proustian reminiscence—it is antique, dust-covered, and ornate. Perfumes are creatures of their time, and this Art Deco piece is no exception, though it was

Dainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953465181232976983noreply@blogger.com