Organized Chaos

in makeup, rants, subscription boxes

Ipsy: Did I make a mistake?

at July 29, 2019

I just signed up for the Ipsy Glam bag and Glam bag plus today. Actually I started the process earlier this month and finally decided to take the plunge today. Ever since I started my profile I had been receiving emails every few days offering things like free gifts for completing sign up. One of these emails said I would skip the waitlist.

Imagine my surprise when I signed up today and found I was still on the waitlist. I posted to Facebook as requested (twice actually, once for the regular bag and once for the plus) and am still on the waitlist. WTF?

I have mixed feelings about the waitlist anyway and how legit it is if you can get off for posting on social media. I’d understand if it was a legitimate limited amount of products available. (If That was the case there wouldn’t be a way to “jump the line” so to speak.) This seems like false scarcity and jerking people around.

Despite this, I’m still interested in the bags and hope I can get off the waitlist ASAP. Once I do I will post about the bags and boxes and maybe do some unboxing/ try on videos.

by darkrose42

in fashion, rants

Lamenting the lack of dressing up

at June 9, 2019

What is happening to society and it’s standards?

I wonder about this every time I go somewhere where dressing up would generally be expected and see what a lot of people are wearing. Shorts and flip flops at museums. Jeans or shorts at the theater. Is nothing special anymore? I remember when I was a little girl and going downtown to shop was something special and you wouldn’t just wear any old clothes to go. I also remember when “Sunday best” was still a thing.

It makes me sad to think that we as a society may have gotten to a point where everything is mundane and nothing is worth putting in a little effort to look good for. Also that we may have lost a sense of appropriateness and respect for our surroundings. Anything goes is a great song but it isn’t a great way to live. (I’m not knocking casual clothes. I just think there are certain times and places for them.)

People around the fountain at MIA — How most people dress to go to a museum

Me standing in an arch of butterflies — How I dress to go to a museum

I’m probably odd in this but I wish things like hats and gloves and dressing up for things would come back. I also think that would make society a more pleasant place. (There are no guarantees of course, but I would hope that if people were dressed nicely they would behave better.) It also would show respect for other people and the place or event you are going to and that you thought the event was something special.

I don’t want to go back to the 50s where women didn’t have the rights and opportunities they have now. (Society certainly isn’t perfect but it is much improved.) I would like to go back to a time where pride in your appearance and class seemed to be more in evidence. Not to mention it’s fun to get all dolled up to go places. I would love it if we got to a point where people didn’t look at you strangely when you wear a dress or hat or ask where you are going all dressed up or what the occasion is. (I might be weird but “dressed up” is the norm for me and the “occasion” doesn’t have to be anything more than it’s Wednesday.)

Just my .02 anyway.

by darkrose42

in events, rants

Grand Old Day mini rant

at June 3, 2019

Today was Grand Old Day. The weather was perfect; sunny and not too hot. I had a good time watching the parade and walking down the avenue. There is always lots to see, along with great people watching.

Me wearing a hat and shades — Walking down the Avenue

This year for the second time they had live wrestling in one of the stage areas. I was looking forward to watching again since I enjoyed it a lot last year. I arrived at the stage area and found out that you needed a wristband in able to enter. Last year you hadn’t needed one if you weren’t buying beer. I ended up having to watch from outside the festival garden area. I could see pretty well but it wasn’t the same as being up near the ring.

View of crowd and wrestling ring — The somewhat obstructed view I had this year

I don’t have a problem with the wristbands themselves and understand why they have them. What I do have a problem with is the price. $10 this year at the event. (They had them discounted to $5 for a while before the event but I didn’t find out about that until after the cutoff date for that price.) If the wristbands were free or $2-$3 I wouldn’t have a problem with it. $8 or $10 though is ridiculous. I’d take a less dim view of that if some of the proceeds were being donated to a charity or if the wristband came with a coupon for a free beer. (I meant get even like it a little better if the wristbands were collectible like a lot of Festival ones are. These are just plain paper wristbands.)

View of wristband booth — One of the wristband booths

I was pretty annoyed because I just wanted to watch wrestling for a bit and wasn’t intending to drink.

You’d think they would keep things reasonably priced or at least offer a free or lower priced option for those who don’t or can’t drink (or who don’t want to drink). Entertainment is supposed to be free. (If they made it an outright cover charge I would be less annoyed too.) I wish wristbands weren’t necessary. I remember a number of years back seeing Soul Asylum at Grand Old Day, drinking a beer during the performance, and not having to pay extra for the privilege except for buying the beer. I wish we could go back to those days.

by darkrose42

in fashion, style

Summer of Dresses Redux

at June 1, 2019

A few years ago a group in the Twin Cities started a project called Summer of Dresses where they resolved to wear more dresses throughout the summer. I read about it when it started in 2010 and thought it was a cool idea. (I’ve thought for a long time that people should dress up more and this was a great start to that.) Unfortunately that project doesn’t seem to be going on anymore and the website, summerofdresses.com is no longer around.

I started doing my version in 2017 since I spend most of the warm weather in skirts and dresses. This year I’m doing it again. (I meant to last year but for one reason or another never got around to it.)

Any day is an opportunity to look sharp as far as I’m concerned and I’d love to encourage more people to do it.

Dressing well doesn’t have to cost much either. Most of the dresses I’m wearing in my posts here and on Instagram and Tumblr were purchased at thrift of secondhand shops of from places like Goodwill.

by darkrose42

in fandom

Free Comic Book Day 2019

at May 9, 2019

Free Comic Book Day is one of my favorite days in May.

The weather didn’t disappoint this year either. It was sunny and around 70 degrees. Just about perfect in my estimation.

Leading up to the day, I was thinking of wearing a Darth Vader costume since it would be May 4th this year and I have a Darth Vader mask a friend gave me. I looked up ideas online and found a cool idea for making a Vader shirt with duct tape.

Darth Vader shirt — Here is the shirt. Just about done except for some color on the control box.

I bought some duct tape yesterday and tried it. The shirt actually looks pretty cool. (I’ll probably use it for Halloween this year.) I also bought a Darth Vader lightsaber on amazon.com to add to my collection.

Me holding Darth Vader mask — Me in the shirt with the Darth Vader mask.

I ended up wearing my 13th Doctor cosplay instead. (I had been torn between the two ideas all along and the Doctor won out.) I’m glad I did.

The comic shop I go to usually has a number of professional cosplayers there for Free Comic Book Day And a few attendees usually dress up. This year there weren’t any superhero cosplayers and almost no one dressed up. There was another person dressed as the 13th Doctor, some kids in costume, and a couple of guys in Spider-Man suits. I was a little disappointed there wasn’t more of a party atmosphere; especially with the Avengers movie out now.

Outside the shop — The outside of the shop.

A statue by the door wearing a 4th Doctor scarf.

Some of the inside of the shop.

My cosplay, minus the coat

I got my free comics with no problem. This year they also had goodie bags promoting Galaxy-Con.

Bag and goodies — The Galaxy Con bag and goodies

I browsed around a bit and ended up buying a sonic screwdriver flashlight and a Star Trek Discovery badge. (They only had medical division ones. I’m thinking of incorporating that into my Doctor Who cosplay in some way.)

Flashlight in package — The sonic screwdriver flashlight

I checked out the comics I got when I got home and was disappointed to see I didn’t get the Doctor Who one or the Stranger Things one. (This is the second time since I have been going to FCBD that I didn’t get the Doctor Who Comic.)

Later that day a friend gave me a couple retro looking DC figures. (From the Retro-action range that came out in 2010.)

Except for not getting the Doctor Who Comic it was quite a fun day. (I tried to order the Doctor Who Comic On-Line and thought I was set. I then got an email on Monday saying the order was canceled because I was just ordering Free Comic Book Day comics and nothing else. I was surprised the site didn’t have an option to pay a couple bucks each just for those. I was paying shipping regardless.)

by darkrose42

in lipstick, nostalgia

1930 Noir Red

at March 27, 2019

This is the latest Bésame lipstick I’ve purchased. (I want to reiterate that all the Besame products I’m posting about have been purchased with my own money and not received as promotional items.)

I’ve always had an affinity for the 1920s, flappers, and Art Deco style.

Here I am at a 1920s party several years ago

Since this color (and Blood Red) are replicas of 1920s colors (and Noir Red was part of the Gatsby collection several years ago.) I was very interested in them.

Here is the lipstick (with my powder rouge next to it.)

Noir red is a dark, blackberry color. It looks very dramatic against pale skin like mine. Some fair skinned people might not like that. (Depends on the looks you go for. As someone into goth style as well as rockabilly/vintage it’s right up my alley.)

I really like this shade and am glad I bought it. I have also gotten a number of compliments since I started wearing it.

Here is another look at the color on me.

by darkrose42

in lipstick, reviews

Let’s hear it for Red Hot Red

at March 13, 2019

This is the third Besame lipstick I bought. I originally wasn’t planning on getting another one right now but when I saw this was based on Marilyn Monroe’s favorite color I couldn’t resist. (I’ve been a big Marilyn fan for years.)

The packaging is pretty as all Bésame lipsticks are.

The color is a bright, warm toned red. After reading reviews and looking at swatches I was a little concerned it would look too orange on me. After trying it I saw happily that It didn’t.

It feels light on the lips and wears well without feathering. The texture seems a bit creamier than some of the other Bésame colors but it doesn’t feel greasy or like it will smear a lot.

I am very pleased with the color and how it looks on me, and happy that I bought it.

by darkrose42

in fandom

Latest Geeky Haul

at March 5, 2019

Several weeks ago I heard about the Her Universe Captain Marvel collection. Of course I was interested. (I love Her Universe clothes and anything Marvel related.)

I went to Hot Topic recently and picked up a t-shirt from that collection and some pieces of jewelry. (Captain Marvel related but not Her Universe.) Here is what I got.

I only intended to get two necklaces but the jewelry was buy 2 get 2 free so I got the earrings and the Ravenclaw necklace as well. (I’m a proud Slytherin but I still think the diadem necklace looks cool.)

Here is how the shirt looks on.

In retrospect I probably should have gotten the extra small t-shirt but the small is very comfortable and I like having a little extra room in case it shrinks in the wash.

The necklaces are very cool looking. My only complaint is the length of the chains. (A safety pin takes care of that though.)

Overall I am very happy with the shirt and necklaces and have been wearing them often since I got them.

by darkrose42

in lipstick

Red Velvet 1946

at February 28, 2019

This is one of the colors that introduced me to the Bésame Cosmetics brand. (It didn’t hurt that it was the color worn by Hayley Atwell on the Agent Carter TV show.)

It is a beautiful dark red and I have been loving it ever since I got it earlier this month.

The packaging is beautiful too.

It applies smoothly, like the other Bésame lipsticks I’ve tried and feels light on the lips.

I was concerned at first that I wouldn’t like the shade or it would be too dark but both concerns turned out to be unfounded.

The color looks great on me and works with a variety of outfits. It has become one of my go-to colors and I’ve been wearing it a lot.

Here is another look at the color with a different outfit.

I would definitely recommend this color to anyone who likes red lipstick and lipstick History.

Check it out here. Bésame Cosmetics

by darkrose42

in nostalgia, Uncategorized

Blast From the past- 90s Redux

at February 19, 2019

I was doing some reading online recently and happened on some articles about makeup from the 90s. These articles also mentioned Caboodles tackle boxes. That immediately made me think about my own teenage years and the Caboodles cases I had.

I probably got my first one when I was in middle school or high school. I remember seeing the ads in magazines and asking for one for Christmas and how middle school me was disappointed when I received a knock off whit tackle box instead of a Caboodles box. (I did get an actual Caboodle some time after that.)

After high school I had a medium sized blue Caboodles box that I used to carry my work tools. I worked at a distribution center at that time. Most people used shoe box’s for their things. I thought the plastic box was cooler looking. (Not to mention sturdier.)

I had that box up until a few years ago when it started looking worn.

A short time after that I got the one I still have now. I can’t remember exactly where I found it. It was either a garage sale or a thrift store though.

You can see it is slightly worn, but still in very good shape.

I’m also not sure of the exact age of it but it looks like one from the late 80s/ early 90s and not one of the rereleased ones.

I love it for the nostalgia factor and for all the space it has for holding and organizing things.

Here are some more images of the box and it’s current contents.

Speaking of blasts from the past, I found I had a couple vintage items in the Caboodle.

These are a couple of limited edition Christian Dior lipstick sets. They are probably from the late 90s. I don’t use the actual lipstick colors now but I think they are really cool looking.

I wish there was a way to refill these because they are very unique and it would be cool to be able to carry them again.

by darkrose42